


Out of the Woods

by halfmoonjisung



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (kind of) star crossed lovers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, Time Travel, author tries to explain the plot through taeyeon, chapter summaries are a myth, emperor!doyoung, history professor!jaehyun, inaccurate history, mentioned markno, minor renhyuck - Freeform, past jaeyong, side johnten, time slip au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 45,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25891168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfmoonjisung/pseuds/halfmoonjisung
Summary: Jaehyun suddenly felt every bit of sluggishness in him leave his body. His eyes grew wider the more he stared at the portrait. The resemblance was uncanny; even though the piece was entirely made of solely various brush strokes, the features were distinct—from lips that were set in a tight line and the sharp eyes that looked like they could see right through him, it was just simply impossible to miss it.It was even more startling when he read the caption below the portrait.Emperor Doyoung, The Great Poet of Romance.And Jaehyun was pretty sure that the person whose picture was on the book was also the person he just left outside their apartment.(or, Doyoung, emperor of Korea, gets transported to the present day, and Jaehyun, a tired professor, wonders why there's an odd guy by his doorstep.)
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 98
Kudos: 453
Collections: jaedo digest: vol. 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt #053:**
>
>> time slip au: jaehyun (or jay or jeffrey) is a korean (or korean-american) living in america. one day, he somehow gets transported back into the old days when korea was still a kingdom and meets doyoung. 
>> 
>> OR you can let doyoung be the one who travels from the past to america during the more modern era and meets jaehyun. 
> 
> [🍃] i obviously went for the latter one
> 
> [🍃] first of all, thank you to the mods who were kind of enough to grant extension otherwise i wouldn’t have been able to post this in time ><
> 
> [🍃] to the prompter, i really had fun with your prompt! i know it’s not perfect, but i hope you enjoy this <3
> 
> [🍃] this is self beta-ed, so i apologize for any mistakes! 🥺 i honestly estimated this to be around 30k only and... well... here’s 15k more, i guess? my longest work yet
> 
> [🍃] the title and the lyrics at the beginning of each chapter are from taylor swift’s song of the same title, **out of the woods**.
> 
> [🍃] lastly, enjoy! i still have a lot to improve on but i still did my best! happy reading, dojae/jaedo nation! and may our drought/divorce era end soon!

_It all seems so simple_

_The rest of the world was black and white_

_But we were in screaming color_

**✦✦✦**

To say it was ironic, Jaehyun thought, was an understatement.

**✦✦✦**

“ _Until the end of the dynasties, I will stay by your side; for I was born with the purpose of offering you my soul, my heart, and my life. And even if the afterlife welcomes me in its embrace, this oath for you, I’ll always uphold. For I have been made to love you all along.”_

“That’s kind of cheesy,” Donghyuck commented from in front. There was a soft resounding laughter that was heard in the room alongside a surprised yelp from Donghyuck, courtesy of Renjun elbowing him from beside him.

Jaehyun smiled at them, turning to the wide screen again to read the words. The kid had a point. “It _is_ kind of,” he thought of a word replacement. “Entertaining. The older dynasties often have the flair for the dramatics.”

“Clearly,” Donghyuck commented. That earned him another hit from Renjun.

“Ridiculous as it may sound,” Jaehyun began, tapping his pointer mindlessly on his free palm as he walked around the podium. “These were sacred words to the Kingdom of Korea. It is the oath a young man takes the moment he is appointed as the heir. These were found in the earliest manuscripts researchers obtained at the Old Palace. That’s why these words are important to Korea and its foundation.”

He allowed the class (or, a few of them who were actually doing so) a few seconds to jot down notes on their binders and laptops before proceeding to the next slide. It revealed a few establishments and some bullet points he listed days ago.

“This oath,” he continued his lecture. “Was first known to be used by the Old Kingdom of Korea’s most renowned emperor, Kim Dongyoung, better known as Emperor Doyoung or King Doyoung. He’s well known for the prominent architectures that were built under his command. Here, in the slides, are a few of the things his reign has produced that, until now, are still beneficial and well-respected in the country.”

“Right in front of you are two of the most popular institutions that were built during his reign. The first one is the Poet’s Library which is still open to tourists even until today. It holds the earliest manuscripts of both the emperor’s and the people who have studied in the Golden Academy of the Arts, which is the other picture on the slide.”

“Neat!” Donghyuck commented from in front. Renjun was too busy squinting at the structures to elbow him. In fact, the other boy raised his hand.

Jaehyun nodded at him. “Yes, Mr. Huang?”

“Is there a reason why the academy was referred to as _golden_?” Renjun asked. Even Donghyuck made an “o” shape with his mouth after realizing what his friend’s question was.

“I’m glad you asked,” Jaehyun replied with a smile. He waited for a few more seconds to give time for the other students to finish copying the bullets before advancing to the next slide. This time, it only revealed pictures of the earliest manuscripts that he mentioned a while ago with a few more bullet points. “What you need to know about the two places I just presented is that they were built and named that way because Emperor Doyoung was often referred to as _The Golden Poet of Romance.”_

A few of the drowsy students stirred in their place, the topic catching their attention. Jaehyun was a little bit grateful for it.

“He’s known as one of the most romantic writers in Korean History, having written hundreds of poems and prose about love and all its kinds; paternal, maternal, romantic, platonic, and anything you could think of. Love for one’s country, for the environment we live in, for the music we hear everyday. His words were often described by critics and historians as ones who could take you back in time and experience its beauty firsthand.”

“Wow,” another student, Jaemin, said. “He must’ve been a romantic.”

Jaehyun nodded. “He was, indeed, a romantic. Scholars of literature often brand his works in one of the most promising titles in romance.”

A collective murmur of fascination went through the room.

“He must’ve loved a lot,” Donghyuck said, Renjun nodding along in agreement.

“Well,” Jaehyun said, shrugging. “There was, however, no trace of anything about his supposed romance. No queens, concubines, or even scandals with servants and commoners.”

He was amused by how quickly the expressions in the students’ faces changed. A few of the ones lying on their desks even raised their heads up.

“Is that for real?” Jaemin asked in awe.

“Yes, that’s true,” Jaehyun answered, pointing at the screen. “Out of all the emperors in the Korean dynasties, he’s the only one without a recorded spouse or romantic interest. We all just believed that he must’ve been inspired by other people’s stories, or perhaps he’s just talented in general.”

Donghyuck let out a whistle. “I bet he was a cool guy.”

“Not exactly,” Renjun countered. “I bet he was lonely.”

“Perhaps,” Jaehyun indulged. “But he _sure_ writes well.”

After that, he flashed the next slide which contained more infamous architectures, all of which were no longer during Emperor Doyoung’s reign. The class slowly went back to how it was before their discourse about the poet, the steady hum of the air conditioner now taking back its place from the subtle whispers that prevailed for a short while. That went on for a few more minutes.

Jaehyun was aware that he could count the number of students who were actually listening to him with his fingers. There were students trying their best to stifle their yawns and there were students who didn’t have a care anymore and were just knocked out on their arm chairs. He checked his wristwatch. _2:25._ He could let them go five minutes earlier.

“Okay, that’s everything for today!” He expected the sudden merriment that followed right after; some shaking their friends to wake them up, some rushing to put their stuff back in their bags to avoid the stampede that was bound to happen later, some, like Donghyuck, trailed by a reluctant Renjun, was making their way to him.

“Prof Jae!” Donghyuck greeted cheerfully as Jaehyun tidied up his desk. “How’s your day?”

He smiled in response. “Pretty much the same. What brings you here? Is it the novel?”

Donghyuck nodded, rummaging through his bag. He lifted his leg a little bit to hoist his bag up until Renjun volunteered to hold it for him.

Every once in a while, Jaehyun would expect Donghyuck coming up to him after class to talk more about East Asian history. If he didn’t know the kid before he even became his student, he would think that Donghyuck was one of the students who was genuinely passionate about learning more about the topic. This little routine that developed between them, however, started when Jaehyun was still dating Donghyuck’s older brother, Taeyong.

When Taeyong brought Jaehyun to their home, Donghyuck was hunched over their dining table, glaring daggers at what seemed to be a blank sketchpad.

“Hyuck,” Taeyong called him that time. “We have a guest.”

Donghyuck only grunted in response.

Jaehyun pretended he didn’t catch the disapproving look Taeyong had on his face before turning to him with a smile. “He’s currently struggling with… uh…”

“Artist’s block!” Donghyuck supplied for him, still eyeing his sketch pad with disdain.

Taeyong laughed lightly. “Yeah, that. Whatever it is.”

This time, Donghyuck ditched the blank paper to glower at his brother. “It’s _not_ just whatever! Before I can draw anything, I have to come up with a plot. But the thing is, my brain is rotting and my head is hurting and I’m _this_ close to banging my head on this table repeatedly until I manage to rack something from my useless mind because I can’t come up with anything!”

It was Jaehyun’s turn to laugh softly.

“He gets like that sometimes,” Taeyong told him the instant Donghyuck returned to his sketchpad while muttering several curses.

“Is he making a graphic novel?”

Taeyong nodded. “I believe so.”

“What for?”

“He said it’s going to be his breakthrough, or something.”

Jaehyun nodded understandingly. He crouched a little bit until he was now on eye level with the poor pad that had been the receiving end of Donghyuck’s death stares. “That’s a normal thing that happens,” he began carefully. “But you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. No matter how long it may take, when it comes to you, I’m sure you’ll do great. I believe in you.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Taeyong smile.

Donghyuck’s face softened as soon as Jaehyun said those words. He allowed himself to match the smile that was on his brother’s face before turning to Jaehyun. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry for giving you an unpleasant first impression. I’m Donghyuck!”

“Jaehyun.”

“Taeyong’s told me a lot about you!” Donghyuck beamed. “Though, he didn’t tell me much about you, only what you did.”

“Yah!” Taeyong scolded while Jaehyun laughed. Donghyuck only stuck his tongue out to his brother.

“I’m a professor, just like him.” Jaehyun replied.

“I know that part. What do you teach?”

“History.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, particularly East Asia’s. The empires of China, Mongolia, and the like.”

It’s pretty cliche to compare the moment to a light bulb suddenly lighting up somewhere above Donghyuck’s head, but that’s exactly the perfect description of what happened.

“Oh my god!” Donghyuck exclaimed, jumping from his seat which startled Taeyong and made him stumble a bit. The boy then looked at Jaehyun excitedly, his eyes gleaming with purpose that wasn’t there before. “I just got an idea!”

And that’s how he ended up becoming Donghyuck’s main source of information for his new graphic novel. Jaehyun helped him build up the premise and the world and supplied a few details that would help develop the plot Donghyuck had in mind. Even after he and Taeyong broke up (in good terms, so to say), he still managed to keep in touch with Donghyuck. More often than not, the younger boy was trailed by his best friend, Renjun, whenever he would wait for Jaehyun’s class to finish to consult him about the progress of his graphic novel.

That’s why he wasn’t surprised when he got the two of them as his students for his Korean History class this semester. He figured Donghyuck probably lined up for his class in particular during their registration.

Donghyuck excitedly handing him a draft of the novel was something Jaehyun was used to already.

"I’m also thinking about sketching a new character!” Donghyuck told him as Jaehyun browsed through the papers. “Someone like a scribe, I guess? Nevertheless, it’s another romantic interest for the main character! Readers dig love triangles for some reason.”

Jaehyun’s lips turned up at that. He handed the sketches back to Donghyuck with a satisfied nod. “It’s a nice addition.”

“You think so?” Donghyuck sounded pleased. Renjun helped him as he returned the sketch back to his bag. “I was inspired by our current lesson.”

“The ancient architectures?”

“No,” Donghyuck then pointed at the syllabus resting on top of Jaehyun’s laptop. “Emperor Doyoung and his acclaimed crafts of romance.”

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows. “You just called him cheesy a while ago, though.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t like them!” Donghyuck grinned. He then nudged Renjun who was scrolling through his phone while Donghyuck and Jaehyun were getting on with their business. “Right, Renjun?”

Renjun shrugged. “If you say so.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes at him before turning back to Jaehyun. “Can we look up the emperor’s works online?”

“I believe you can do that for a few of them,” Jaehyun replied. “We’re not even sure if all the documents retrieved was everything he wrote. Most of them are back in Korea at the library, but I believe we have a few copies of a number of titles in our own library.”

“Cool!” Donghyuck beamed.

“I’ll try to ask Miss Taeyeon,” Jaehyun offered, picking up his things. “I have to get a few books from there anyway. I’ll update you in our next class.”

Jaehyun swore Donghyuck would’ve hugged him right there, hadn’t he been holding onto Renjun’s arm. “Thank you, hyung!”

They joined the rest of the students exiting the lecture hall, the sound of Donghyuck animatedly talking to Renjun about the new plotpoint he added drowning in the chatter of the crowd rushing outside. He took his phone out of his pocket to check some of his notifications while waiting for everybody to leave.

There were a few unread messages from his group chat with his friends.

**[ j-line \m/ (5) ]**

_[ jung ]_

im in campus already by the registrar where are u

it’s been so long since i went here ughhh i almost got lost -____-

_[ john ]_

poor u

omw btw

we’ll pick up ten first, right?

_[ jae ]_

yea

also meet me by the main library i’ll get something there first

_[ jung ]_

k

wait where tf is that again

  
  


**✦✦✦**

Miss Taeyeon handed him his ID. “There, I logged everything back.”

Jaehyun didn’t take it yet. “Actually, I was wondering if I could get a few more documents.”

“Oh, okay,” she placed his card back to their scanner, reopening the archive tab on her desktop. “What do you need?”

Jaehyun leaned over the counter to get a glimpse of the screen. “Any copy of Emperor Doyoung’s works.”

Miss Taeyeon briefly gave him an amused look. “Doyoung? The Golden Poet?”

“Yeah, that one.”

She raised an eyebrow as she turned back to the computer. “I thought you didn’t need much of those.”

“Just wanted to read more.”

“Whatever you say,” she said, typing in a few titles before standing up. “Stay here.”

Jaehyun sometimes wondered how long Miss Taeyeon had been working for in the library. When he was still a freshman, the alumni he encountered would always tell him that she’s always been there. Even until now that Jaehyun was part of the faculty, she was still there. What he realized, though, was she always looked the same. Sure, every now and then she’d make jokes about how she’s not getting any younger, but Jaehyun still admired how much she probably took care of herself for her to still look just as young as he first met her. He didn’t really know her age, but he never asked.

When Miss Taeyeon returned to the counter, she placed a pile of five books in front of Jaehyun. “Check them,” she told him as she returned to her seat.

While she was logging everything to his card, Jaehyun browsed through the books. He frowned at one of them and pulled it from the stack. “I think you accidentally included this.”

Miss Taeyeon looked at the book he was holding up and shook her head. “No, I really put that there.”

Jaehyun looked at the title. “It’s a biography of Emperor Doyoung?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think I need this.”

“You do,” she replied simply, grinning as she handed him his card. “Here. See you around!”

Before Jaehyun can even say anything else, she gave him a little wave and pulled out her phone, dismissing him. He shrugged, thinking that the book might be useful for Donghyuck somehow. 

His own phone buzzed in his pocket.

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ (5) ]**

_[ jung ]_

yeaaaaaaa

i think im lost

_[ john ]_

where r u

_[ jung ]_

by that big fountain near the student oval

JAEEEEEEE HELP ME I CANT FOR MY LIFE REMEMBER THIS PLACE

_[ jae ]_

lol

just got out of the library

stay there, i’ll get u

_[ john ]_

how can u not remember our uni anymore

_[ jung ]_

stfu <3

  
  


**✦✦✦**

“Can we get more cheese here?’

“Johnny, that’s enough.”

“You can never have enough cheese,” Ten grinned, snapping his fingers in the air to help his boyfriend call the attention of the server.

Tonight, their humble group—with the addition of Johnny’s darling boyfriend—decided to hang out and eat dinner at a samgyeopsal place that Jungwoo somehow obtained discount coupons to (“From a client,” he answered when Jaehyun had asked). It wasn’t ideal for them to do so on a Wednesday night, especially to Jungwoo and Johnny. While Jaehyun didn’t have any scheduled lectures until early in the afternoon on Thursdays, Johnny had a field trip to entertain at the Museum tomorrow at six am sharp and Jungwoo had to finish up a report by midnight (“I’m more than halfway through, don’t worry, that archive replica isn’t going anywhere,” he reasoned). However, tonight was the last day that the coupons were valid, so they opted not to waste them.

Right after the server refilled the molten cheese on their grill, Jungwoo started stuffing the lettuce wrap in his mouth with one bite, something Ten tried to copy but failed.

Johnny laughed. “That’s a cute attempt.”

“Shut up,” Ten retorted, hitting his arm. “It’s not like you can do it too.”

Jungwoo muttered something undecipherable, but Jaehyun was pretty sure the message was something along the lines of “He can’t.”

Johnny furrowed his eyebrows. “You have little faith in me. Jae, hand me a wrap.”

Jaehyun chuckled as he passed him the lettuce basket. Jungwoo pointed at the side dishes he used with his wrap to help Johnny recreate it. Everybody watched in entertainment as Johnny tried to fit the entire thing in his mouth. It didn’t get in as smoothly as it did with Jungwoo’s, but with a few additional pushes, Johnny managed to do it. He turned to his side to give Ten a taunting smile while his cheeks were stuffed with food. “ _Shrrr?_ ” he attempted to say, probably meaning _See?_

Ten rolled his eyes, but he was grinning at him. “Okay fine.”

Johnny let out a few more gibberish noises, and when he realized no one understood what he meant, he looked at Ten once again and pouted his lips—or at least, he tried.

“You big baby,” Ten said, but he was already standing up slightly from his seat to place a soft, quick kiss on Johnny’s cheeks.

By the time that happened, Jungwoo already swallowed the contents of his mouth and was now free to comment with coherent words. “Gross!”

Just like that, Ten and Jungwoo were now bickering at each other about boyfriends and public displays of affection, while Johnny was watching them (mostly Ten) with a fond expression while a faint crimson shade was slowly coloring his cheeks. The scene stirred some kind of warmth in Jaehyun, though he wasn’t sure if he was only being sentimental because of the little bit of alcohol in his system that somehow mixed up with his exhaustion.

Especially with the way he was observing how Johnny looked at Ten, as if the guy had somehow managed to hang up all the stars in the sky. It wasn’t foreign to Jaehyun, but the thought of someone looking at him like that and everything that thought entailed caused something to churn in the pit of his stomach.

He chose to blame the alcohol and his exhaustion.

A few seconds after that, Jaehyun caught the sudden change in Johnny’s expression as his eyes spotted something somewhere behind Jaehyun. Curiosity got the best of him, so he turned his head around, even when Johnny was trying to say something. “Jae, wait—”

The moment his eyes made contact with who he presumed was the cause of the shift in Johnny’s guise, he bitterly laughed internally, almost shaking his head by doing so. It wasn’t just moments ago that he was daydreaming sappily about Johnny and Ten’s romance and how he somehow longed for something like it, and now he was staring at someone who, at a point in his life, had granted him that.

“What is it—” Jungwoo cut himself off when he turned around to see what Johnny and Jaehyun were looking at. “Oh.”

Even Ten raised his eyebrows in surprise after he craned his neck a little bit to share the view.

Taeyong smiled at them as he raised his hand. “Hey,” his mouth read. There were a couple of tables in between Jaehyun and Taeyong so he could only faintly hear what he was saying.

Jaehyun offered a small wave in return. Taeyong gave him a small smile and a curt nod before directing his attention to the two people across him in his booth, both of them trying to spare a glance at who Taeyong just acknowledged. Jaehyun immediately turned around.

“Huh,” Jungwoo began, subtly moving a little bit closer beside Jaehyun, as if letting him know that he’s there for him. “Didn’t expect them to be here.”

“Them?” Ten asked, his gaze still wandering over to Taeyong’s table.

“Taeyong and his friends,” Johnny replied. “Yuta and Sicheng. They’re all professors in the university like him.”

Ten gave them one last look before shrugging. “Hmm, for a while I thought… nevermind.”

Jaehyun didn’t have to ask him to know what he implied. If word about Yuta and Sicheng being interested in each other didn’t get around in the faculty, he would’ve thought Taeyong was dating one or both of them as well. Truth be told, he thought Taeyong would’ve had someone by now, considering it had been months since him and Jaehyun called the relationship off.

He brushed the _What about you?_ away before it could invade his mind.

“It’s a small world we live in,” Jungwoo wistfully let out before proceeding to make another wrap.

Jaehyun drank the last bit of his beer, letting the sensation run through him before leaning back on his seat. Jungwoo already had another wrap in his mouth, and both Johnny and Ten were playfully fighting over who gets to dip their pork on the cheese first. Figuring he was already full for tonight, he pulled out his phone to keep himself occupied while the rest of his friends took their time in spending their discount well.

After checking on the few emails the department sent out, he went to twitter just to entertain himself. Half of his followers and the people he followed consisted of his students—past and present—mostly because they find it interesting to see a professor’s tweet on their timelines. Not that Jaehyun tweeted controversial things, so he still sometimes laughs at the fact that his regular retweets were considered entertainment.

There wasn’t much to see on his timeline. As expected, Donghyuck’s account was the one dominating the feed. If the students found his simple tweets special, he was just as amused as they were when it came to their tweets. They would either be talking about a single topic collectively or different things at once. Today, it was more of the first.

Jungwoo must’ve caught him smiling at his screen, because the younger guy nudged him before nodding towards his phone. “What’s going on there?”

“Twitter,” he replied briefly, scrolling through the tweets. “They’re talking about some guy in a costume parading around town. One of my students thinks he would be able to get a picture with him before the night ends.”

Jungwoo snorted. “Children…”

“Oh come on, Woo,” Johnny interjected. Ten was now leaning against his shoulder and Jaehyun was pretty sure he was half asleep. “Like you were any better when we were undergrads. Weren’t you roping clueless strangers into joining our zumba activity.”

“Hey!” Jungwoo protested. “I simply used extreme means for the sake of our grade.”

“They had fun too, though,” Jaehyun added. Jungwoo gave him a thankful grin.

Ten smirked lightly, his eyelids half dropped already. “Who in their right mind would walk around the streets with a costume that got people talking at nine in the evening? It’s not even Halloween”

Jaehyun shrugged, pocketing his phone the same time Jungwoo finally pushed his plate a little bit farther away. “It sounds like something Jungwoo would do.”

Jungwoo let out a dramatic gasp. “And I thought you were on my side!”

**✦✦✦**

  
  


Out of the four of them, three of them live together. Out of the four of them, only one of them owned a car. Jaehyun was the common thread in both situations.

They first took Ten to his apartment, but by the time they arrived, the guy was already asleep. Jungwoo and Jaehyun waited in the car as Johnny carried Ten inside, letting him settle. When he returned to the backseat, they were giving him knowing looks.

“You know,” Jaehyun began, starting the engine. “You should reconsider his offer.”

“What offer?” Johnny asked, even though Jaehyun knew he was aware of exactly what he was talking about.

“The offer to move in with him,” Jungwoo answered sharply.

Johnny only offered them a small laugh. “Are you two kicking me out of the apartment?”

Jaehyun pressed the pedal and made sure they were on the right side of the road before replying. “You know what we’re talking about.”

Jungwoo hummed in support.

Silence reigned in the atmosphere. When Ten first mentioned it, both Jaehyun and Jungwoo stayed out of the matter, knowing that it wasn’t their business to pry. However, almost two months had passed, and Johnny was still in a constant state of reluctance that he resorted to cracking up jokes that disguise his actual thoughts (“If I were at Ten’s, we’d have adopted five cats by now.”). They indulged him for a while, still keeping their distance about the matter and only saying stuff about the matter when Johnny brings it up and the conversation was up for discourse.

What was ridiculous about the situation was that Johnny practically lives there already, and that he and Ten could easily be mistaken as a married couple at this point. Jaehyun sometimes thought that even if Ten didn’t joke about Johnny not wanting to fully commit to him one time he visited their apartment, he and Jungwoo would still talk to Johnny about it.

The silence still hung in the air, and Jaehyun figured they wouldn’t be getting an answer from Johnny anytime soon. Just as he was about to turn the radio on, he saw the cars ahead of him slow down and eventually stop, something he ended up doing the same afterwards.

“Oh come on,” Jungwoo grumbled. “I still have to finish up and submit my report.”

Johnny leaned forward right in between Jungwoo and Jaehyun’s seats. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” Jaehyun answered truthfully. He heard a few horns from the cars in front of them, some drivers even poking their heads out and yelling ahead. “Woo, could you try to find out what’s happening?”

Jungwoo was already rolling down the window of the passenger seat before Jaehyun even finished his sentence. The person at the passenger seat of the car right in front of them had their head out and was yelling up front, and Jungwoo took advantage of that to ask them what was going on. “Excuse me! Could you tell me what’s going on?”

The passenger was more than willing to answer. “Someone tried to cross the road while the light was green and guess what? They weren’t even walking on the pedestrian lane!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! And they weren't even stopping even when they saw the cars approaching them.”

“Woah! Are they at least safe?”

“Yeah, no thanks to them.” Jaehyun could make out a scoff coming from them. “The driver pulled the brake just in time, and when the driver tried to talk to them about it, they just stared at them, yelling words we couldn’t understand. And now we’re all stuck.”

Jaehyun had no problems with getting home late, but he was getting irritated for the sake of his friends. He could see Johnny slowly drifting away to sleep through the rearview mirror and he was already picturing the scenario later on when Jungwoo starts to cram his report.

Jungwoo and the equally annoyed passenger exchanged a few more words, mostly Jungwoo just nodding along and agreeing with them as they waited for the vehicles to move. When they did, his head was already back inside and he was already rolling up the window.

“They were—” Johnny cut himself off, yawning, and then, “—pretty annoyed, huh?”

“Can’t blame them,” Jaehyun replied as he started to follow the cars in front of him. “Person causing problems must be extremely wasted, or something like that.”

Jungwoo huffed as he turned Jaehyun’s radio on, and the chorus of a familiar ballad filled up the spaces the silence a while ago had left. “I don’t even care anymore,” he said, slouching on his seat. “I just want to go home.”

“Me too,” Johnny mumbled sleepily, this time unable to stop himself from lying down and occupying the entire backseat.

Jaehyun shared the same sentiments as them.

**✦✦✦**

The apartment wasn’t much, what with its decorticating paint on the walls and the fading number placed on their front door, ornamental plants that should’ve been wilted and decomposed by now had it not been for Jungwoo’s persistent watering, and the fact that it’s identical to the neighboring buildings on both sides of the residence.

Still, it was home.

The three of them had been friends since college, courtesy of being members in the same organization for Korean-Americans on campus. Sure, they were in different courses and year levels, but what started as a simple “Let me help you with that.” on a slogan-painting task somehow blossomed into a friendship that has now lasted for years, and was still counting. 

Johnny graduated first, so naturally, he was the first to leave the dorm residences on campus behind and was in need of a new place to stay. After a long, excruciating process of apartment hopping that both Jaehyun and Jungwoo accompanied him with, they settled with this one. It was one of those joint chains of identical buildings that often housed families and not exactly a fresh graduate trying to get a job, but it was the most convenient one. 

It was near the place where Johnny worked as an intern (and really, it was the only vacant one that time). There were two floors because the architecture was designed specifically for a family. Three bedrooms occupied the second floor while one bedroom and the rest of the space were on the first floor. 

Before Johnny could even ask, both Jaehyun and Jungwoo offered to stay in the apartment with him. He was constantly getting cramped in the campus residences anyway, and there wasn’t a day where Jungwoo wouldn’t complain about his roommate. After telling him so, Johnny engulfed them in a tight hug, though Jaehyun was pretty sure that he only did so because he didn’t want the two of them to see his eyes brimming with grateful tears.

Even after Johnny finally secured his job at the museum, and Jaehyun started his teaching career, and Jungwoo got accepted to a business firm almost immediately right after he graduated, they remained in that humble apartment together, the building now one of the many testaments of their friendship and everything it brought about.

As far as Jaehyun could tell, there wasn’t anything special about that night when they got home. Jungwoo immediately rushed to his room to work on his report, and Jaehyun managed to convince Johnny to wash up first before collapsing on his bed to fully embrace slumber. After making sure Johnny had his alarm set, he went downstairs in the kitchen and made two mugs of tea, delivered one to a concentrated Jungwoo, and then settled back in their welcoming area in the hopes of coming across a show to watch before sleeping.

The good thing about their compound was that every apartment minded their own business. They were all civil towards each other, sometimes helpful (the family living in the apartment to their right was a constant borrower of their tornado mop), but they still kept their space. They weren’t close enough to be called acquaintances—not that any of them minded. They preferred it that way. _Your business was yours, my business was mine._

Which was why halfway through the cooking documentary Jaehyun managed to find through mindless browsing, he was wondering why their neighbor’s dog was barking out loud. Usually, the little animal was harmless, even wagging its tail whenever it encountered any of them. Very friendly, that one. And now Jaehyun was curious why it wouldn’t stop snarling.

At first, Jaehyun let it be. The dog was locked up in its cage during the night, so he figured it would eventually get tired of making noise. However, as the minutes passed by, the dog’s growls only grew louder, drowning the sound of the chef talking about a Filipino cuisine on the television. Jaehyun paused the video and got up from the couch to go upstairs. He checked Johnny’s room and now found his friend with a pillow over his head. When he checked Jungwoo, the guy was cursing under his breath while plugging in his earphones.

He went back downstairs and checked the clock on the wall; it read _11:25._

Jaehyun took it to himself to check what possibly could the dog be barking at, possibly try to get it to calm down, and opened the front door.

What he was expecting: a stray cat, probably. Or maybe one of those teenagers walking around this time of the night to hang out somewhere. Or maybe the little creature was just hungry. Whatever it was, he assumed the dog was barking at something within its owners’ vicinity.

What he wasn’t expecting: the dog actually barking towards their place in the compound, and a stranger standing a few feet across their doorstep, glowering at the dog and swatting their hands in vain.

Jaehyun wasn’t sure if midnight was just drawing near and his body and mind were now begging him to rest, or the stranger was actually in a luxurious hanbok. He rubbed his eyes and then squinted, reassuring himself that he wasn’t just seeing things.

“Excuse me?” Jaehyun asked softly in English.

The man paused and turned to him, the glare that was once directed to the still barking dog now brought to Jaehyun, and there was something about their gaze that startled Jaehyun. The night was dark and only the moon was bright, but that was enough light to show him the stranger’s perusing eyes looking at him both with caution and amusement. 

“Excuse me sir, who are you?” Jaehyun repeated, in Korean this time.

For a while, Jaehyun was rooted in his spot. Normally, he’d think of this situation as extremely ridiculous, but with the way the stranger was staring him down, he felt himself freeze in his position.

And then with their whole chest, they declared;

“I am Kim Dongyoung.”

Jaehyun considered the fact that maybe, this was all just some ridiculous dream his mind managed to conjure, what with the lecture he had and the encounter with both Donghyuck and Taeyeon, and that he was actually fast asleep in his bed, wrapped in the comfort of his soft covers.

He also considered that maybe the guy in front of him must be seriously disturbed. After purposely pinching himself (and yelping in pain afterwards), he went with the latter.

The dog was still barking, this time even louder and whimpering a little bit as if it were trying to warn Jaehyun. He heaved a sigh before smiling politely at the person. “I’m sorry,” he started. “Did you just say you are Kim Dongyoung?”

“I am him,” the guy answered sharply, sounding mildly offended. Jaehyun’s eyebrows creased at that. “Eldest son of the former King Ryeowook and the reigning Emperor of the Great Kingdom of Korea."

Jaehyun had to admire the indignation in his voice because it almost sounded convincing. “Cool,” he said, not meaning it. “Nice to meet you. Now, I don’t know what your business is, but can you please find another front door to stare at? That dog clearly doesn’t like you and my friends need the quiet tonight.”

Doyoung—or so he claimed—grimaced. “I cannot leave.”

Jaehyun was tired. The seemingly unending snarling from their neighbor’s dog wasn’t helping. “What do you mean you cannot leave?”

“The world does not allow it.” Doyoung replied with a straight face.

Jaehyun blinked a couple of times before stepping out of the frame and closing the door behind. “Okay, enough joking,” He crossed his arms and gave the other guy a telling look. “Listen, sir—”

Doyoung narrowed his eyes. “Is that how you talk to your king?”

“—you are not my king, rather, if I’m going to be frank, you are my current nuisance.” 

He walked towards Doyoung and gently placed his hands on the other’s shoulders, something that provoked the other’s fight-or-flight response, immediately stepping back and swatting away Jaehyun as if he were some kind of vermin. “What are you doing?!”

Jaehyun raised his hands up in surrender. “Just trying to give you a little nudge. Believe me, I don’t want to touch you or anything,” he then pointed at the sidewalk. “Please, just find somewhere else to lurk.”

Doyoung scoffed. “I have no desire to stay.”

“Then why, for the love of God, are you here?” Jaehyun was basically flailing his arms around now in frustration.

“I have told you, the world keeps bringing me back here.” Doyoung replied as he straightened his posture and placed his hands behind his back. “I was transported to this foreign world and it took me right in front of your dwelling. I have tried to leave and search for help, but every time I do, I keep coming back here.”

“Sir,” There was now a hint of agitation laced with the practiced politeness in Jaehyun’s voice. “With all due respect, it’s almost midnight. The neighborhood’s resting, people are trying to sleep, and your presence is not making it possible. I’m sure you have your… intentions… to entertain, but we don’t appreciate them right now.”

“You don’t understand. _I_ am King Doyoung.” the other guy was now pleading, though he still kept the distance between him and Jaehyun. And then, his face lit up. “Perhaps, the reason why I’m being brought here is because you might be able to help me.”

That was it for Jaehyun

He could already feel the headache slowly arriving and he told himself he was not dealing with this anymore. Jaehyun let out a defeated sigh and made his way back to the door, ignoring the eccentric stranger and the still barking dog, letting them both fade into the backdrop.

Before the other could even say anything else, Jaehyun flashed him a forced smile, and with a mocking tone, he greeted, “Good night, _Your Majesty_.”

Jaehyun caught a glimpse of what seemed like a hopeful expression from “Doyoung” before closing the door on him.

He stayed on the other side for a while, leaning in against the frame to hear anything else from outside other than the consistent growling. After a few moments, the barking receded and could hear the faint sound of retreating footsteps. He was glad the guy took the hint.

Jaehyun tried to get back to the documentary he was watching, but as soon as he sat back down on his couch, his body ached after coming in contact with something comfortable that he decided it was time to rest.

He checked the clock. _11:45._

Jaehyun went back upstairs to check on his friends again. Johnny was still fast asleep, now hugging the pillow that was since covering his head close to his chest. Jungwoo was also fast asleep on his desk, his earphones still plugged in, laptop still open and the cup Jaehyun brought him a while ago now empty. Jaehyun removed his earphones, closing his laptop right after making sure the website on the screen verified that Jungwoo sent in his report, and took the empty cup back with him downstairs.

A yawn escaped his mouth as he placed both cups on the kitchen sink, so he left them there and headed straight to his room.

However, not even a few seconds after he settled in the covers, the dog started barking again.

He groaned in frustration as he sat up on his bed, scratching the back of his neck in frustration. “It’s that guy again…” he cursed under his breath.

At this point, he was just exhausted and craving for rest that he just sent a prayer to whoever was listening that they would be able to sleep tonight. The noise the dog was making wasn’t as loud as it was before, and Jaehyun figured the dog would eventually tire out too. However, he really didn’t want to spend any more time awake, so he decided on blocking out the noise.

Jaehyun got out of his bed and made his way towards his desk where his bag was placed. He was about to rummage through its pockets to find his earphones when the pile of books beside it caught his eye. They were the books that he was meant to lend Donghyuck, the ones that consisted of King Doyoung’s works and the one biography of his that Miss Taeyeon casually added to the pile.

Perhaps the bizarre situation that just happened a few moments ago had something to do with Jaehyun picking up the biography instead of searching for his earphones which was what he was originally planning to do so. Perhaps he was just curious. Perhaps his mind was now floating along the boundary between awake and asleep and he was only half-aware of what he was doing. Still, he picked the book up.

The author was someone he recognized from his reviewers when he was just about to take his licensure examinations. A prominent name with an admirable upbringing that he immediately deemed the work credible.

He skipped the tables and foreword and skimmed through its contents, unsure of what he was looking for. Nevertheless, he went on. He was about to stop browsing until a certain page caught his attention.

Looking back at him was a portrait of a man. By the looks of it, Jaehyun thought it must be one of those ancient painted sketches that the early artists have mastered. Though it wasn’t exactly an artwork that could easily pass a still-life photo, the person they drew was still recognizable.

Jaehyun suddenly felt every bit of sluggishness in him leave his body. His eyes grew wider the more he stared at the portrait. The resemblance was uncanny; even though the piece was entirely made of solely various brush strokes, the features were distinct—from lips that were set in a tight line and the sharp eyes that looked like they could see right through him, it was just simply impossible to miss.

It was even more startling when he read the caption below the portrait.

_Emperor Doyoung, The Great Poet of Romance._

And Jaehyun was pretty sure that the person whose picture was on the book was also the person he just left outside their apartment.

He was just staring at the page as if he were waiting for instructions to appear to guide him what to do next. A rather louder bark from the dog pulled him back to reality, drawing him away from the trance he was about to slip into, and Jaehyun blinked a few times before taking the book and rushing downstairs.

When he opened the front door, he saw Doyoung seated by the curb with his back turned on him. Alerted by his presence, the guy turned around and stood up, looking at Jaehyun with an exhausted look. “I told you, I keep being brought back here—”

But Doyoung didn’t even finish whatever he was saying because he was caught off guard by what Jaehyun did next. The younger guy flipped through the book he was holding quite aggressively before landing on a page and placing the book right beside Doyoung’s head.

“I demand to know what you are trying to do this instant.” Doyoung tried to avoid him by stepping sideways, but Jaehyun only followed his move, the book still hovering beside his face. Doyoung scoffed. “And yet you tell me that _I_ am the odd one.”

“No way,” Jaehyun breathed out, but he wasn’t talking to Doyoung.

Doyoung’s curious face matched the portrait on the page, and seeing the two side by side caused Jaehyun to stumble a bit. A flash of worry crossed Doyoung’s face.

“Are you alright?”

_No._ “Yeah,” Jaehyun replied. He pulled the book away and was now staring at Doyoung in a daze. “You’re Kim Doyoung.”

Doyoung raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t I made myself clear about that?”

“No, wait,” Jaehyun’s saturated brain was still trying to comprehend the situation. “ _You’re_ Kim Doyoung. From the past.”

Realization dawned on Doyoung’s face as his mouth formed an “o” shape. “Then this must be the future,” he said, though Jaehyun was sure he was most likely talking to himself. “I was brought to the future.”

Jaehyun closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Doyoung again. “You were _what?_ ”

“I was brought here, to this world,” Doyoung explained, observing the surroundings with an amused stare. “I was… merely wondering, one night. And the sky opened up—”

“The sky _what_ now?”

“—and took me here, right in front of your doorstep. And then…”

Doyoung then went on a monologue about how people shut him down whenever he asked for help or how he tried to leave but would always come back to the house, but Jaehyun could only pick up bits of what he was saying because he still couldn’t believe what was happening. It was too _bizarre_ to be branded as a coincidence. But it was also too _bizarre_ to consider it real.

The dog barking was what brought him back to reality (and also interrupted whatever it was that Doyoung was now talking about). Jaehyun mentally slapped himself and proceeded to do the first thing his sleep deprived, half functioning brain could think of.

“Doy—Your Majesty,” he corrected himself, trying to call for the king’s attention.

Doyoung paused, though Jaehyun was partly sure that it was because the other guy was startled by Jaehyun using his title. He cleared his throat before looking replying to Jaehyun, “Yes?”

Irritation creeped in Jaehyun as the dog still barked, probably annoyed that Jaehyun wasn’t doing anything to shoo Doyoung away. He figured there was only one way to shut the animal up and spare the neighborhood a sleepless night due to the troublesome noises it was making..

“You mentioned something before,” Jaehyun began, gauging the words he’s saying carefully, still unable to believe that he was actually doing this.

Doyoung raised an eyebrow. “Could you be more particular?”

“About why you’re being brought here, no matter where you go,” Jaehyun clarified. “You said something.”

“Ah…” Doyoung replied. “There _must_ be a reason why I keep ending up on this spot. There _has_ to be.”

_No shit,_ Jaehyun thought to himself. _I thought we established that already?_

Doyoung’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he finally figured out what Jaehyun was talking about. “Maybe I keep coming back here for _you,”_ The king began. Jaehyun was skeptical with the way he worded his sentence. “Because you’re meant to help him.”

Jaehyun still thought that _that_ was ridiculous; but he also thought the Great Emperor Kim Doyoung lounging by his doorstep was ridiculous a few moments ago, and yet the book of his hands seemed to prove him otherwise. He was tired, and he wanted to sleep. He also wanted the dog to let the night pass by quietly.

Which was why he said, “Come inside.”

Even Doyoung was surprised by his words. “Pardon?”

“Come inside,” Jaehyun repeated, more firmly than before. “I can’t let you stay outside the entire night, and that dog will continue to growl at you until dawn. I…” he heaved a sigh. “I don’t know if I can help you go back, but I can at least offer you to stay the night.”

Doyoung tilted his head to the side like he was thinking things over. Like any rational person, Jaehyun thought he shouldn’t have invited him to come inside. For all he knew, what was on the book was just coincidence and that this guy’s agenda all along was to act clueless and then murder Jaehyun the instant he lets his guard down.

But there was something about Doyoung’s eyes that overruled every skeptic thought that crossed Jaehyun’s mind. Every bit of Doyoung may have seemed incredulous, from the hanbok he was wearing and the scowl he didn’t bother hiding, but his eyes remained honest. Jaehyun couldn’t pinpoint _how_ or _why,_ but there was something about Doyoung’s eyes that seemed to draw him in, to tell him to trust him.

He put the blame on his current state of drowsiness.

“Very well,” Doyoung answered. “It’s been an exhausting day.”

Jaehyun found himself mumbling in agreement.

When he let Doyoung inside, the barking _finally_ subsided and immediately stopped when Jaehyun closed the door.

The instant he did that, a little bit of sense was coming back to him. Did he just let in a disturbed person or an actual king from the past? Either way, even though he gave Jaehyun his name, Jaehyun deemed him a stranger. His rational side was slowly waking up, and he was suddenly alert, already regretting what he did.

He was about to force Doyoung outside again had it not been for the said stranger standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, looking around like it was his first time seeing such.

“Strange,” Jaehyun heard him mutter. “Very strange.”

Hesitantly, Doyoung took another step, taking in his surroundings. _Looks like he’s harmless,_ Jaehyun thought.

“Stay here,” Jaehyun told him, pointing at the untidied couch he was just sitting at a while ago. “I’ll… go get you some clothes.”

Doyoung didn’t seem to be listening. He was staring at the circular bulb at the ceiling directly above him. “Interesting…”

“Could you stay here?” Jaehyun gestured towards the couch again.

Doyoung now looked at the portraits by the wall. They came with the apartment, and Johnny never really bothered to remove them, said they looked nice anyway, and it made the place feel homey. “Fascinating…”

“Your Majesty?”

“Impressive…”

“Doyoung?”

“A bit unusual… but then again this is supposed to be the future…”

“Right, looks like you’re pretty occupied,” Jaehyun muttered to himself. He’s sure Doyoung wouldn’t notice him, but he still said, “I’ll go… grab some stuff for you to sleep in.”

Jaehyun went to his room and grabbed a plain white cotton tee and a pair of warm woolly pajamas from the bottom of his drawer. He also pulled out a spare blanket from one of the cabinets at the corner of the room and took one of the pillows on his bed with him as he descended down the stairs.

As expected, Doyoung was still standing in the middle of the room, looking at the television in awe.

Jaehyun cleared his throat, hoping it would catch Doyoung’s attention this time. Thankfully, it did, because Doyoung was snapped out of whatever trance he was in and turned to look at Jaehyun. He raised an eyebrow at the stuff he was holding.

Instead of saying anything, Jaehyun jerked his head towards where the guest room was. Doyoung looked confused, but he still followed Jaehyun who walked towards it, opened the door, and went inside. Jaehyun then turned the light switch on, startling Doyoung a bit.

“What are these?” Doyoung asked, looking at the pile he was holding weirdly.

“You can wear them for the night,” Jaehyun patted at the clothes at the top. “I don’t think you would be comfortable with the… hanbok.”

Doyoung looked down at his outfit and then back to Jaehyun. “It’s alright. I don’t need to borrow your… peculiar clothes.”

Jaehyun looked at the pile once more. “It’s just a shirt and a pair of pajamas…”

“A what?”

“Nevermind,” Jaehyun mumbled more to himself than to Doyoung. He took the two pieces of clothing and placed it on the bed. “I’ll still put this here just in case you change your mind.”

He could feel Doyoung looking at him instead of the stuff he brought, but Jaehyun chose not to dwell on it. He put the extra pillows and the blanket right beside it.

He met Doyoung’s eyes and pointed at the pile. “To help you feel comfortable.”

They stood awkwardly for a short while, silence reigning in the atmosphere now that the neighbor’s dog was finally quiet. Doyoung looked at Jaehyun like he was scrutinizing him, like he was trying to figure out every bit of him. Maybe it was because Jaehyun’s mind was now echoing with chants of _“Sleep! Sleep! Let me sleep!”,_ but whatever it was, instead of feeling conscious, Jaehyun stared back. Challenged him with the same leveled gaze he was getting.

He wasn’t sure he was taking anything in. All he knew was that the more he looked at Doyoung, the more the supposed king looked like the scribble of lines on the page of that biography book. Truth be told, it was making his head hurt the slightest.

Doyoung was the one who broke the silence with a soft, but clear, “Thank you.”

Jaehyun blinked before clearing his throat. “You’re welcome.” He gestured to the bed. “You can sleep here. It’s comfortable.”

The king nodded slowly. “If I may ask,” Doyoung started. “What’s in store for tomorrow?”

“You mean, what’s the plan?” Jaehyun asked.

The other guy nodded.

Jaehyun had no idea. Though, he didn’t tell Doyoung that. Instead, he turned on the lamp by the desk beside the bed after months of not being used, went over to where the switch of the room light was and turned it off. Darkness filled the room, but not quite. Somehow, the light of the night sky managed to cast bits of itself through the glass windows and the lamp somehow illuminated part of the room with a warm glow.

And even after all that, Jaehyun could still make out Doyoung’s face in the dark, his wide, perusing eyes still looking at him.

He was pretty sure that by then, it wasn’t Doyoung who was suddenly looking a lot like the portrait. It was the portrait who was beginning to look a lot like Doyoung.

He shook his head lightly. He needed to sleep. “Good night, Your Majesty.”

When Jaehyun was halfway through the door, Doyoung called him again. “Wait,” and then when Jaehyun turned to him, “I didn’t catch your name.”

Jaehyun smiled, but he wasn’t sure if Doyoung could tell he did so in the dark. “Jaehyun.”

Doyoung did, because he smiled back. “Good night, Jaehyun.”

  
  


**✦✦✦**

Definitely an understatement.


	2. Chapter 2

_Looking at it now_

_We were built to fall apart_

_Then fall back together_

**✦✦✦**

In the dream, Doyoung knew him, and he knew Doyoung.

Jaehyun could feel the soft grass beneath them as they sat beside each other. The wind was brushing his cheeks tenderly, the sunlight adding to the warmth that was already embracing them.

Doyoung was seated right beside him, humming a song. The dream was blurry, Doyoung’s figure was a bit hazy, but Jaehyun could still see his eyes clear as day.

He felt serene. Content. Safe.

“I keep coming back to you,” Doyoung said, after humming the last note of the song. “Sometimes, I don’t think it’s because fate wants to,”

Jaehyun tilted his head to the side. “Then, why?”

Doyoung started to hum another song.

Jaehyun nudged him lightly. “If it’s not fate, then why do you keep coming back to me?”

Doyoung paused and turned sideways and Jaehyun met his eyes. Bright, inviting, and utterly captivating. And then, he smiled.

“Because _I_ want to.”

**✦✦✦**

Before he could get a grasp of what he just dreamed about, he heard a shout that apparently pulled him out of it.

“Jaehyun, for the love of god, _wake the fuck up_!”

His eyes shot open not because of the loud voice, but because someone was now shaking his body violently. That someone, he saw after rubbing his eyes and sitting up reluctantly, was Johnny.

“What?” Jaehyun asked, but he only got half of the syllable out courtesy of the yawn that made its way out of his mouth.

Johnny looked at him like he was acting ridiculous. (Maybe he was.) “What do you mean, _What?_ ” He grabbed a pillow from Jaehyun’s bed and threw it towards him with force. “There’s a stranger downstairs who emerged from the guest room and called me an intruder when I descended from the stairs! Oh, and he kept insisting that _you_ let him stay the night, and you ask, _what?!_ ” Johnny crawled on the bed but only to retrieve the pillow and throw it towards Jaehyun again. “Have you lost your mind?!”

 _Probably,_ Jaehyun thought as he stretched his limbs. But he didn’t tell Johnny that.

Johnny groaned. “ _Jae!_ ”

It was only then that he snapped out of his trance, left the moment between sleeping and waking up behind, and finally realized what was happening. He blinked a few times, and then turned to Johnny. “He’s still there?”

Johnny raised his arms up in defeat. “ _Still there?_ He’s lounging on the couch!”

“Okay,” Jaehyun pushed aside his blanket. “Let me—“

_“HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”_

Jaehyun scrambled out of his sheets and followed Johnny out of the room’s door.

_“JAEHYUN! JOHNNY!”_

When they reached downstairs, Jungwoo had one of their brooms in his grasp, only, the handle was pointing towards Doyoung who was just sitting by the couch, his eyebrows furrowed at Jungwoo.

“Oh, thank _fuck,_ ” Jungwoo said as he acknowledged their presence. He waved the broom lightly, still pointing at Doyoung. “This—we have an _intruder_. Look at him!”

Doyoung looked at them and offered a curt nod. “Jaehyun,” he greeted.

Jungwoo’s eyes went wide as saucers. “You _know_ him?!”

“That’s what I was wondering about too,” Johnny added, turning to Jaehyun as well. “I woke up at 4:30 am to get ready for the field trip and then I see _this_ guy,” he pointed at Doyoung who was now looking at Jaehyun’s friends with a curious expression. “Sleeping comfortably on the couch.”

 _4:30 am,_ Jaehyun repeated in his mind. He glanced at the wall clock, trying to read the time with the light that the lamp allowed. He managed to do so. It read 4:36.

“Yeah,” Jaehyun managed to reply before a yawn escaped his throat again. And then, “I let him stay there.”

“What—“ Johnny began, but then he cut himself off before inching closer to Jaehyun. Jungwoo, curious, rushed to where they are. Johnny then whispered, soft enough for only the three of them to hear, “Look, if you’re gonna let a hook up stay the night, you should’ve offered your bed—“

“Woah, woah, woah,” Jaehyun rambled on, his cheeks heating up at the implication despite it being false, no matter the context. “I did _not_ hook up with him!”

“Then what else is he here for?!” Johnny said, a little louder this time while pointing at Doyoung who just looked annoyed and sleepy. “You found him in the street searching for a place to crash and you decided to offer him our couch?”

 _That was pretty spot on._ “Yeah,” Jaehyun replied meekly.

Jungwoo’s jaw dropped. “Why would you do that—you know what? Nevermind. I’m _not_ talking to you, Jung Jaehyun.” He huffed before marching towards Doyoung, the broom still in his hand. “You!”

Doyoung’s forehead creased when Jungwoo pointed a finger at him. “Pardon?”

“ _Pardon_?” Jungwoo repeated, but in a mocking tone. “Who the hell are you?”

 _Oh no,_ Jaehyun thought. _Here it comes._

He should’ve expected the dramatic attitude Doyoung radiated when he stood up and looked directly at Jungwoo’s eyes.

It was only then that he realized Doyoung was actually wearing the clothes he lent him a while ago. He spotted the hanbok folded neatly on top of the coffee table. As for Doyoung himself, he looked… different, but also not. Sure, he was dressed in grey woolly pajamas that Jaehyun probably only wore once in his life and a plain white shirt that he now realized was worn backwards, but the way Doyoung held himself didn’t change. Chest out, chin up, stiff upper lip. Eyes that pierce through you, that seem to command you.

Just like last night, he felt like a king through and through.

“I am Kim Dongyoung,” Doyoung answered, his tone different from when he introduced himself to Jaehyun. This time, he sounded more commanding. “Eldest son of the former King Ryeowook and the reigning Emperor of the Great Kingdom of Korea.” 

Johnny muttered a string of curse words under his breath. Jungwoo just stared at him. “I’m sorry, you are _who?_ ”

Doyoung let out an irritated sigh. “Why must I go through this again?”

“ _Again_ ?” Johnny picked up, turning to Jaehyun. “What does he mean by _again?_ ”

“He… introduced himself last night,” Jaehyun replied. 

Jungwoo looked like he was about to lose his mind. “And you believed him?”

“Not at first,” Jaehyun mumbled, more to himself.

“I understand if you find my being here difficult to believe,” Doyoung spoke. Jaehyun was slightly taken aback, not because of his words but because of the manner he said them. With authority. Even Johnny and Jungwoo looked mildly surprised. “It has only come to my knowledge the previous night that I’ve been brought to the future.”

That must’ve been the last straw for Johnny, because he walked towards Jungwoo’s side while applauding slowly in a sarcastic way. “Genius. Brilliant. Nice acting. Now tell us who you really are.”

“I told _you,_ ” Doyoung told them, matching their skeptic glares, though his gaze only held traces of sincerity. “I am King Doyoung, and if we were in my world, I’d have you both dragged away from me.”

“Sure, you do that.” That was Jungwoo.

“I _am_ not making things up.”

“It sounds like you are, though.” Johnny said that one.

“I swear by the souls of my ancestors, I am not.”

“Now, you just sound ridiculous.”

“Look,” Jaehyun stepped in, silencing the three of them as he made his way to where they were. He stopped right beside Doyoung, and their current arrangement only made it seem like it was him and the king against his two friends. (Then again, that _was_ the case). “He’s harmless. You don’t have to gang up on him.”

Jungwoo placed the back of his free hand on Jaehyun’s forehead, frowning after pulling away. “Nope, not sick.”

“Jae,” Johnny said like he was trying to talk some sense to Jaehyun. “ _He’s_ claiming to be Emperor Doyoung,—“

“I am _not_ claiming!”

“—the one on our history textbooks,—“

“I really _am_ him.”

“—the supposed greatest poet of romance—“

“I beg your pardon?” the indignation in Doyoung’s voice was replaced by confusion, and 

Johnny must have noted that too because he stopped talking without finishing what he had to say. Instead, he repeated his words, “Greatest poet of romance?”

Doyoung looked appalled, head quickly turning towards Jaehyun. “Is that what I’m known for?”

“Uhh…” he replied unintelligently, not really knowing what to say. “Yes…”

“Not the point!” Jungwoo announced, now flailing his arms around. “There is a complete stranger right here in our apartment, who’s obviously disturbed considering the fact that he’s led himself to believe that he’s someone from the past.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes. “I presume you will ask me to leave?” 

“Please do,” Johnny replied quickly while nodding enthusiastically.

Doyoung turned to Jaehyun, sending him a silent look. He sighed, getting the message. “We can’t do that.”

“Jae, I don’t know why you let him in, but he’s spewing nonsense,” Jungwoo reasoned out. “We’re putting this place, everything we own, and ourselves at risk.”

Jaehyun took in Doyoung’s entire figure. He couldn’t take the king seriously in sleepwear, and Jaehyun was about to tell Jungwoo how stupid it was to think that Doyoung was a threat, but he met his eyes again and the words died at the tip of his tongue. 

It’s always Doyoung’s eyes that felt out of place in every situation and yet they seemed to be the ones holding everything together. Perhaps they were the reason that Jungwoo was afraid, but they were also the reason why Jaehyun was not.

Sharp. Compelling. Confident. And very, very honest.

Jaehyun forced himself to look away. “It may seem that way,” he replied to Jungwoo’s last statement. “But trust me, it’s no use. He’ll just keep coming back, no matter how many times you try to make him leave.”

“It’s true,” Doyoung added, now looking at them. “I figured it might be because you could help me.”

Jungwoo scoffed. “ _You_ are not getting my help. And what even do you need it for?”

“I keep telling you,” Jaehyun could tell Doyoung was getting irritated now. “ _I_ have been brought to your world—which is the future of mine. There’s a reason I couldn’t seem to depart from your doorstep, no matter where I go.”

“So basically,” Johnny added. “You don’t know why you need our help, but you need it. That alone sounds like you’re just messing with us.”

“I swear to my ancestors’ ashes, I am not.”

“You called yourself King Doyoung,” Jungwoo added, matching Johnny’s tone.

“Because I _am_ King Doyoung.”

An idea occurred in his mind. While Jungwoo, Johnny and Doyoung were bickering and arguing, Jaehyun took this as a chance to sprint upstairs. Johnny only managed to take note of this when Jaehyun was already on the second floor, rushing to his room (“Where the hell are you going?”). Before any of them could follow him, he was already descending downstairs with the same biography book from last night.

Jungwoo groaned at the sight. “Jae, this isn’t one of your history lessons.”

“Exactly,” Johnny added.

Doyoung, however, simply raised an eyebrow as Jaehyun ignored his friends and placed the book on the coffee table, just right beside the neatly folded hanbok that he was surprised both Jungwoo and Johnny didn’t take into account yet. Jaehyun plopped on the floor, crossed his legs and then browsed through the book for a certain page that haunted him ever since he came across it.

He felt someone tap his shoulder. Probably Johnny. “Jae—“

“Here!” Jaehyun exclaimed, a little enthusiastic than he expected. Probably because he was tired of the constant arguing and bickering, but mostly because he finally had other people to share what he knew with. “Look at this portrait.”

His friends and Doyoung all leaned a little bit to get a better look.

“ _Shit,_ ” that was Jungwoo after a few seconds of silence, his eyes darting from the book and then to Doyoung who was still staring at the page. “Shit!”

“No, no, no, no,” Johnny followed, stepping back and then pointing a finger at Doyoung, and then to the book, and back at Doyoung again. “This—this is a coincidence.”

“Is this how you found out? And the reason why you believed in me?” Doyoung asked Jaehyun softly, neglecting the other two guys freaking out.

Jaehyun looked up and met those bright, knowing eyes once again. “Yeah,” he replied.

Doyoung stared at him again for a few more moments before glancing down at the page. It’s actually quite amazing how carefully painted lines come together to form a portrait that resembled an awful lot like a person. The small details were noted, and those entirely made up the bigger picture. 

“That’s it!” Jungwoo’s exclamation reeled him back from his thoughts. “I am officially convincing myself that I am dreaming. You,” he pointed at Doyoung who turned to him and eyed the accusing finger. “Are not real. When I wake up, you are gone. Poof!”

Jungwoo huffed as he turned around, humming an obnoxious off-tune melody as he marched up the stairs. The three of them were just staring at his retreating figure climbing up. They could hear Jungwoo adding a few words now to the song he was humming as he returned to his room. “This is a dream… I will sleep and when I wake up everything is normal… there’s no emperor in the apartment…”

When they heard Jungwoo’s bedroom door close from upstairs, Johnny let out a sigh. “I think I’ll take a shower first before making breakfast,” he muttered, more to himself than to Doyoung and Jaehyun. He spared a glance at Doyoung again, and he looked both conflicted and startled still. “Uh, I’ll get going… Your Majesty…”

Johnny paused, like he couldn’t believe he just said that. He then slowly went back upstairs to their shared bathrooms, mumbling to himself in contrast of Jungwoo’s loud singing—if you can call it that.

That left Doyoung and Jaehyun in the living room.

“What is the plan, now?” Doyoung asked after a while.

Jaehyun still didn’t have an answer. He racked his brain for anyone who’s remotely close to being open with helping out, someone who’s just as eccentric as what was happening, someone who’d probably believe him if he told them _Hey, I have a king from the past with me right now and I don’t know what to do about him_ — _no biggie, you know, he’s only just one of the greatest poets in history, after all._

A particular person came to his mind. It was the closest thing to “help” that he could think of. (Plus, he didn’t know who else to go to.)

“I’ll take you to… someone who can help.”

Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows. “I hope they’re not one of the mean men in uniforms a while ago.”

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow. “The police?”

“I really have no care about what they’re called.”

“Don’t worry,” but Jaehyun didn’t sound reassuring. “She’s not one of them.”

To be honest, Jaehyun didn’t know how helpful Taeyeon was going to be. Part of him only thought of her because he believed she was somehow mildly responsible for the entire fiasco, having handed him the damned book like she knew this was going to happen. She’s always been sketchy, anyway.

And it’s not like Jaehyun had a lead.

So for now, he could at least share this with Taeyeon. He had a feeling the librarian wouldn’t make fun of him and believe him instead.

“Okay,” Doyoung simply replied. “Can I resume my slumber now?”

Jaehyun nodded, a yawn escaping his lips that indicated he was planning the same thing.

**✦✦✦**

When he woke up, he felt extremely sluggish. The sleep interruption that happened just a while ago took its toll on him.

Johnny had left a decent amount of omelet rice on the dinner table, covered up by another plate to preserve any bit of warmth. Jaehyun was mildly surprised to see that the food was good for three people, meaning Johnny had thought of Doyoung while cooking.

 _Right,_ Jaehyun thought. _Doyoung._

He proceeded to boil some water and then made three cups of powdered coffee mixture. He poured in the then hot water on his cup, the scent of caffeine filling the room.

And maybe it reached the guest room too, because Doyoung came out of it, looking just as sleep deprived, subconsciously following where the smell of coffee was coming from until he reached Jaehyun’s side.

Jaehyun then poured water into one more cup for Doyoung.

“What is this?” Doyoung asked suspiciously, eyeing the drink in his cup. “And how can I assure that you did not put any poison in it?”

“I have no reasons to kill you,” Jaehyun said. He grabbed the cup from the king’s hands, took a little sip, and then gave it back to a now bewildered Doyoung. “There, _Your Majesty._ ”

Doyoung didn’t say anything else and drank his coffee. “Mmmmm…” he hummed in approval. “This is delicious.”

Jaehyun was unable to fight off the smile.

When Jungwoo came downstairs, the two just finished eating breakfast, Jaehyun now doing the dishes and Doyoung standing right beside him, fascinated by their supplies.

“Oh god,” Jungwoo groaned. “You’re still here.”

Doyoung’s forehead creased. “That is no way to talk to your king.”

"Pee pee poo poo,” Jungwoo chanted, yawning afterwards. “Whatever you say, your highness.”

“It’s your _majesty._ ”

“Whatever.”

Just like that, both Jungwoo and Doyoung fell into a casual exchange of retorts. Jaehyun found it amusing that something as mundane as two people bickering in the morning felt so… odd. Like it wasn’t supposed to be like that.

Yet it was.

When the time came for Doyoung and Jaehyun to go to the university, Jungwoo begrudgingly agreed to lend his clothes to Doyoung even though he was still unable to fully grasp what was happening. Jaehyun couldn’t blame him. He was still somehow skeptical about the entire thing.

“When I wake up tomorrow,” Jungwoo muttered as he handed Jaehyun a nice outfit for Doyoung to wear. “This didn’t happen.”

He sounded a lot like he was convincing himself.

Again. Jaehyun couldn’t blame him.

Now, Doyoung was in the passenger seat, wearing Jungwoo’s clothes that looked like he outgrew them but he had no other choice. Half of that statement was true. Though, seeing the supposed emperor looking at the window view with wide eyes reminded Jaehyun of the struggle to get him there.

(“Are you trying to kill me?!”

“I’m trying to get you to wear a seat belt!”

“Why?!”

“Otherwise you’ll _definitely_ get killed!”)

Albeit difficult, Jaehyun managed to get him to wear a seatbelt, the grumbles that lingered fading as Doyoung started to acknowledge the scenery.

At first, Jaehyun thought the other might get sick because of the nauseous look he had. Perhaps, that was the case, but Doyoung seemed to recover because of the fascination that he had on his face as he glanced at the towering skyscrapers, the speeding cars, and just the moving scenery that the window view offered. He even muttered words under his breath like “Fascinating”, “The future must have invented a lot”, “This is extraordinary”. Jaehyun felt like Doyoung wasn’t intentionally letting him hear these things, so he pretended to mind his own business driving.

After feeling slightly conscious of the not-so-subtle whispers that Doyoung was making, Jaehyun decided to ultimately drown it with music and turned the car radio on.

He wasn’t expecting Doyoung to jump on his seat right after doing so.

 _See,_ Jaehyun thought to himself as he willed himself to calm down after the sudden startle. _If he wasn’t wearing his seat belt he would’ve bumped his head._

“There…” Doyoung carefully let out, gulping after doing so. “There’s a ghost in your car…”

“That’s a radio,” Jaehyun was quick to reassure. “It’s just… sound waves.”

Doyoung looked even more confused. “Sound waves?”

“Yeah, uh,” Jaehyun was scrambling his mind in search of a basic explanation to deliver. “We use them to be able to communicate even though we don’t physically see each other.”

“Like letters?”

“Yes, but there’s no physical writing required,” Jaehyun supplied. “It’s hard to explain, but you’re like using… air… to deliver… hence the transmissions we get for the radio.”

Doyoung squinted for a bit and then shook his head. “I’ll be long gone before I even understand any of that,” he paused, and the sound of a familiar KPOP soloist’s song took over the silence. Jaehyun’s heard of this a lot of times, so he already knew the lyrics, but this was still all new to Doyoung, and his next words just proved it. “Is this person… telling me I slept with another man?”

Jaehyun tried to hold back a chuckle. “It’s a song,” he briefly glanced at Doyoung. “Don’t you have those in your... time period?”

“We do…” Doyoung said, nodding along subconsciously to the beat. “They just didn’t sound like this.”

“I see,” Jaehyun acknowledged. “Well, we have a lot of great songs like this. About romance, I mean. I figured you might like those.”

He heard a slight snicker. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you’re a writer, right?”

“I’m a king.”

“Yes… and a writer.”

Doyoung didn’t reply right away, like he thought over something first. “Jaehyun,” he began, like he was still testing out Jaehyun’s name. “That book… what did it say about me?”

“I haven’t read much,” Jaehyun admitted. “But it’s a biography so I guess it’s all about your life. Mostly how you became a renowned name in the field of literature.”

“Literature?”

“Yeah, since you write stuff about love so well.”

“I don’t write love poems,” Doyoung sounded extremely confused.

Jaehyun shrugged, eyes still up at the road. “Well, in the future you will,” he replied. He could see the campus sign from a distance. “We’re almost here.”

Doyoung didn’t respond anymore and went back to admiring the view, the artist’s voice now singing about their forlorn story.

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but he still couldn’t have prepared himself enough. Somehow, the simple walk to Taeyeon’s office felt like a struggle worthy of a Survivor episode. (That was an overstatement, but it still wasn’t easy.)

The thing about people in campus having completely different schedules from each other is that there will always be some of them lurking around a certain area. Even though it was a busy five pm or a quiet two am, there will still be people on campus.

Jaehyun and Doyoung happened to arrive at a rather populated one pm (courtesy of lunch time) but the people weren’t really the problem. Like always, everybody minded their own business.

Well, everybody except Doyoung.

Jaehyun had formed some sort of image in his mind for Doyoung to be timid, cautious, and wary of his surroundings when they arrive on campus. What ended up happening was Doyoung straying away from following Jaehyun every now and then, curious about the podiums, bulletin boards, furniture, and even the students, faculty, and staff passing by. Jaehyun would always smile at them kindly, making up apologies that range from a stressful night to a weird lunch they ate as he subtly dragged Doyoung away from them.

And throughout the walk, he had to entertain a curious mind that was paired with an outspoken mouth.

“It’s like the sound waves you mentioned a while ago.”

“Is it possible for people to be materialized in a second without having to call a painter?”

“This alternative for a staircase is making me rather nauseous.”

“Do they actually fly?”

“Were they allowed to hold that thing?”

“It’s a wonder seeing the future civilization firsthand.”

“Is it always like this out in the world?” Doyoung asked that when they were near the library already.

Jaehyun shrugged. “Maybe? Not all the time, but there’s quite a lot of universities.”

“Interesting…” Doyoung marveled in awe. “And this is where you get your education?”

“The students, yes.”

"How do you have enough scrolls for all of them?”

“We have modules.”

“Are you a master?”

“A teacher, yes,” Jaehyun replied, giving a curt nod to a student who looked at them with fascination from the language they’ve been using. “It’s my job.”

Doyoung nodded. “Is that the job of your friends back at your dwelling too?”

“No, not really,” Jaehyun answered, spotting the library from a distance. “Johnny, the tall one, works at a museum. Jungwoo, the one who lent you clothes, works in a construction firm.”

“You have a lot of different jobs.”

“We do,” Jaehyun then opened the library door, motioning for Doyoung to enter first. “A lot has progressed since your time.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t see Taeyeon on the front desk. There was a new person in her place. Jaehyun never really encountered anybody else in Taeyeon’s position ever since he first stepped foot in the library, so he was a bit puzzled.

“Where’s Miss Taeyeon?” Jaehyun asked the lady in Taeyeon’s usual place in English.

She beamed at him. “She’s in her office.”

Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows. “She has an office?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Doyoung turned to him. “Is something wrong?”

Jaehyun shook his head slightly. “No, not really,” he then turned back to the lady. “Since when did she have an office?”

“Since always.”

Maybe it was the fact that Jaehyun never saw anyone on the library counter other than Taeyeon that startled him. He just assumed that she was some sort of constant force — kind of like a library spirit, if you ask him. Always there, ever since he started going to the university.

He nodded understandingly. “Can you tell me where her office is?”

She nodded and pointed to the right. “That door there.”

Jaehyun was pretty sure that door wasn’t there throughout his entire history in this campus.

Still, he bid her goodbye and dragged Doyoung with him to the new room before the supposed king could even start wandering around the area and bothering other people.

The door to Taeyeon’s office was slightly ajar, and Jaehyun made a mental note of telling her about it later. Out of politeness, he still knocked before welcoming themselves into her room.

It wasn’t much of an office just like the one he had back in their department. It seemed more like a living room, with a large cushion seat by the corner that could be mistaken as a prop for the set of _The Godfather_ , a long couch Jaehyun assumed was for guests opposite to it, and a coffee table with historical magazines and almanacs resting on top of it.

He could also see a bar and a cupboard at the corner, but he didn’t dwell on it as soon as he saw Taeyeon seated on the large chair, sipping whatever hot drink was on her mug.

“Jae!” she greeted brightly, like they were best friends for two decades long.

“Hi,” he greeted cautiously, motioning for Doyoung to enter the room. “I brought—”

Taeyeon immediately set her mug on the table (Jaehyun winced a bit for the lack of coaster underneath) and stood up as soon as she saw Doyoung.

Then, with her whole chest, she greeted, “Your Majesty.”

Taeyeon bowed.

Doyoung gave her an acknowledging nod.

Jaehyun was frozen, looking back and forth from Taeyeon and Doyoung. 

“What just happened?” he demanded.

“She knows me,” Doyoung sounded pleased.

Taeyeon smiled. “Of course, I do.”

Millions of questions were spinning inside Jaehyun’s head that he didn’t even know which to ask first. He was scrambling through the contents of his brain until his eyes landed on the wall clock ahead of him. It read _1:30_.

He had a 1:45 class.

“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. If he started his walk now, he’d be able to reach the faculty in time to grab his things and then make it just in time for his class. “I have to go.”

He turned to Doyoung, and then to Taeyeon, then back to an amused Doyoung, and then to Taeyeon again who now had a teasing smile on her face. “Yes?” she asked in an intentional sickeningly sweet manner.

Jaehyun was going to deal with this later. “Can he stay here for a while? I’ll come back after my class.”

“Sure,” Taeyeon replied in an equally sweet voice as before.

“Okay, great,” Jaehyun said, heading towards the door.

Doyoung seemed alarmed. “Hold on,” he followed Jaehyun to the doorframe. “You’re leaving me here?”

“Just for a while,” Jaehyun reassured, ignoring the weird look Taeyeon was giving him. “I’ll come back.”

Jaehyun didn’t even know why he was coming back. For all the weirdness that was happening, he could simply leave Doyoung to Taeyeon, remove the responsibility he temporarily carried, and get on with his life.

However, the look of relief that washed over Doyoung’s expression somehow prevented him from doing so. “Very well,” Doyoung said, his eyes looking into Jaehyun’s again, but the sharpness that was there last night was replaced with something soft—fond, even. “I shall wait for you.”

Jaehyun smiled and nodded. “I’ll go now.”

He ignored Taeyeon’s knowing gaze as he closed the door behind, the image of the way Doyoung just looked at him haunting his mind as he made his way to his class.

**✦✦✦**

The discussion in itself wasn’t anything odd. Jaehyun had taught this lesson before to previous batches so he was extremely familiar with the syllabus by now.

The only difference of that session, however, was the fact that one of the people Jaehyun was discussing about was literally just within the area, sitting in the office of a god-knows-what-kind-is-she woman, probably having a little chat over a hot drink just a few distance from where Jaehyun stood.

Perhaps it was because most of his students never really paid attention in class that they didn’t notice Jaehyun was kind of... awkward with the topic. Every time he had to mention Doyoung’s name, he would pause for a second more than he intended like he was letting the name sink in to him. 

Because Doyoung wasn’t just a name anymore.

No, he was only a few steps away from this classroom, still very whole.

The same routine took place when Jaehyun dismissed the class. Students, even the ones who were half asleep through three quarters of the lecture, would walk past him and mutter a little “Thank you, sir,”, and Jaehyun would always say it back (“Thank you. Take care!”) This time, however, Jaehyun only managed to smile at them.

What didn’t change in this routine was Donghyuck marching towards him, a trailing Renjun following from behind.

“You okay today, hyung?” Donghyuck asked the instant he reached Jaehyun’s desk. “You sounded kinda off while ago.”

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow. “You noticed that?”

The younger boy nodded. He nudged his best friend who then scowled at him for interrupting his mobile game. “Renjun noticed it too.”

Renjun only nodded when Jaehyun turned towards him, still muttering curse words under his breath.

“You don’t have to worry,” Jaehyun reassured. At least, for now, they really don’t. He then rummaged through his bag and pulled out the books he got from the library yesterday. “Here, as promised.”

Donghyuck’s eyes lit up at the sight of the books, immediately scooping them up and holding them close to his arms. “Oh my god, thank you!” Even Renjun stopped playing on his phone to check the pile out. “Renjun, this is going to be my breakthrough! I can’t feel it.”

“Sure it is,” Renjun told him, smiling

“Man, this amount of books just for a single character reference?” Donghyuck laughed in glee. “Kim Doyoung must’ve been quite the guy, don’t you think?”

Renjun shrugged. “I mean, I have no idea how he was like in real life so I can’t really answer that.”

Jaehyun kept his eyebrows from raising, but he let the thought stay in his mind. 

“What could he be like in real life?” Donghyuck wondered as he struggled to put the books in his bag. Eventually, Renjun pocketed his phone and helped him out. “I mean,” Donghyuck continued. “He must be really sweet, and probably the type to cuddle.”

Jaehyun gave him a bewildered look while Renjun simply rolled his eyes. “He’s an _emperor_ , Hyuck!” Renjun responded. “I don’t think they cuddle.”

Donghyuck scoffed. “You act like they’re physically incapable of cuddling.”

Renjun shrugged, zipping up Donghyuck’s bag. “Who knows? Maybe they are.”

Perhaps they are, Jaehyun thought as he raised his eyebrows at them.

“Hyung,” Donghyuck turned to him again, fixing up his bag strap. “How do you think Kim Doyoung is in real life?”

“Oh, come on Hyuck,” Renjun interrupted before Jaehyun could even process the question. “It’s not like Jaehyun-hyung has met him in real life.”

Jaehyun closed his eyes momentarily and if he could listen carefully, he swore somewhere from a distance, life was laughing at him as they kept throwing joke over joke at him.

“Anyway,” he replied as soon as he snapped his eyes open. “I still have somewhere to be. Good luck with your novel.”

“Uh, hyung,” Renjun asked as they all made their way outside. “I’m just wondering if there’s already a place for our annual field trip in the department?”

Jaehyun never really kept himself updated in purpose (unless necessary) about departmental events. It had always been Taeyong who would collect all information and then simply relay them to Jaehyun. He figured he should change that now.

“I haven’t heard anything yet,” he replied truthfully, trying to recall any significant thing he must have heard as he passed by the faculty corridors. He couldn’t find anything. “Sorry,”

Renjun nodded appreciatively. “It’s okay.”

They were the last ones to leave the room before the janitor came in to clean the board for the next class. Renjun and Donghyuck bid him goodbye as they descended down the stairs to rush to their next lecture, and Jaehyun went upstairs to the faculty floor.

_“He must be really sweet, and probably the type to cuddle.”_

Jaehyun laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement.

**✦✦✦**

“Oh, you’re back!” Taeyeon greeted him cheerfully like everything was normal.

“Hello,” Doyoung greeted as well. He was seated on one of the couches in the office, having what seemed to be tea.

Jaehyun immediately turned to Taeyeon. “Why aren’t you weirded out by this?”

“Mmmm… bad start,” Taeyeon told him. “You’re asking the wrong questions.”

Jaehyun wanted to pull his hair out.

“Now, your majesty,” she said to Doyoung. “Could you fill him in on what we discussed.”

Doyoung was silent for a short while before finally saying, “I made a stupid wish. On one of the sacred shrines in the palace.”

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not stupid,” Taeyeon consoled, picking up her own cup of tea.

Jaehyun scoffed. “So what? You wished to be taken here?”

Doyoung glared at him. “Had I known that I was going to be brought to the future, I wouldn’t even have said anything in the first place.” And then, more softly, “I… wished to learn something, before I become king.”

“Wait,” Jaehyun was becoming more confused. “You’re not a king yet?”

“I am,” Doyoung said more indignantly. “My father stepped away from the throne already, but I have yet to be crowned.”

“Anyway,” Taeyeon interrupted them, giving Doyoung a meaningful look. “Like all instances before—”

“Before?!” Jaehyun bellowed, but Taeyeon ignored him.

“—the reason you came by here would also be the reason you’ll be able to go back,” she finished. “And… you made a wish, so life wouldn’t exactly bring you here without a reason. It had probably something to do with that.”

Doyoung raised an eyebrow at her.

Taeyeon sighed. “And… I’ll find a shrine that’s exactly like the one you wished on. It’s the 21st century, I’m sure they made replicas of it. I think if you can make a wish or swear an oath there, you’d be able to go back.”

“Wait, wait, what shrine are we talking about?” Jaehyun asked, lost.

“It’s on the book I gave you, the biography,” Taeyeon casually replied.

“W— I knew that wasn’t supposed to be there!”

“Yes, yes,” Taeyeon was swatting her hand in the air. “Now, in the meantime, he’s going to have to stick around with you until I find the shrine.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened. “Why with me?!”

“Well,” Taeyeon answered. “He said he keeps coming back to your doorstep, so you can’t really get rid of him. And the only reason he’s not going back there was probably because you’re with him. So really, I think you’re meant to look out for him.”

Jaehyun was speechless. Nobody else talked after that.

A low grumble broke the silence.

Jaehyun was pretty sure it didn’t come from him, and when he looked at Taeyeon, she didn’t exactly look like her stomach just made an embarrassing sound. That meant—

Doyoung cleared his throat. “Apologies,” he told them.

Taeyeon clasped her hands while grinning. “Looks like you can start now!”

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun brought Doyoung to his go-to coffee shop on campus back when he was still an undergraduate student. He didn’t have any other classes that afternoon, that's why he had the liberty of doing so.

Also, Taeyeon would probably not leave him alone if he didn’t do it.

Unlike earlier, Doyoung strayed less and stuck to just following Jaehyun most of the time. The only time that he wandered off again was when he spotted one of the university’s emotional support dogs roaming around the floor of the building.

Doyoung had been the first one to approach it simply out of curiosity, but it was the dog who made him stay for a long time. It nuzzled his nose against his legs, barking at him happily while his tail wagged enthusiastically. It was only when he heard Doyoung’s stomach rumble again that Jaehyun dragged him away again. After that, it only took them a few more minutes before they reached the coffee shop, Doyoung still muttering a few remarks and observations under his breath while on the way.

Jaehyun gestured for him to sit down at the table near the window, his usual spot back when he was still a college student getting by. It somehow became a reserved place for him, somehow. The ghost of his textbooks and handouts and even his previous second hand laptop still lingered at the tabletop, and they gave him a warm feeling of nostalgia every single time.

“Stay there,” he told Doyoung once the other guy was seated. “I’ll get us cake and coffee.”

If Doyoung heard him, the king certainly didn’t show it. He was back again to admiring the place, eyes slowly scanning the area like he was taking everything in.

Jaehyun pursed his lips. “Okay then,” and he made his way to the counter.

While falling in line and patiently waiting for his turn, he kept an eye at Doyoung just to make sure he doesn’t do anything odd. Thankfully, the other guy seemed to behave and wasn’t doing anything to attract attention.

“Next!” The barista called when the person in front of Jaehyun on the lane he was at walked away with their order.

He smiled at the familiar face. “Hey Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan beamed at him. “Jae! It’s been a while since I last saw you.”

“Well,” Jaehyun shrugged. “Work was busy.”

“I figured that,” Jeonghan said. “Should I get you your usual?”

Jaehyun nodded. “Make it two, please.”

The barista raised his eyebrows and grinned mischievously at that but didn’t make a comment. Jaehyun swatted away the suggestive look on Jeonghan’s face as they made the transaction. He waited patiently as Jeonghan joined the other baristas in making their orders.

He was about to check on Doyoung again when he heard someone call his name.

“Jaehyun?”

There was a mild, sudden heart drop when he recognized the voice. He turned to the lane beside him where it came from and put on a practiced smile. “Hey, Tae.”

Taeyong returned the smile. He was leaning a little bit to the counter as well, probably waiting for his drinks too. The guy chuckled as his eyes followed Jeonghan who was now excusing himself through other baristas to make Jaehyun’s coffees. “You never change your order.”

Jaehyun laughed a little as well. “Yeah, I guess I don’t. Kind of stuck with me.”

Taeyong nodded. “How are you?”

“Fine, fine,” Jaehyun replied rather quickly. “Pretty fine. Getting by. What about you?”

“‘Pretty fine’ as well,” Taeyeong replied, copying the manner Jaehyun said the first phrase. “Didn’t really get a chance to talk to you last night so I figured I’d use this opportunity to ask instead.”

“I appreciate it,” Jaehyun meant it.

Awkward silence hung over the air between them, and Jaehyun was sure they were both painfully aware of it. He looked over to where Jeonghan was to see if his coffee was close to being finished, but he found the guy still waiting for another barista to be done with the blender.

“By the way,” Jaehyun said, finding a conversation starter that could remove the dead air between them. He thought of the encounter with Donghyuck and Renjun a while ago. “Do you have any idea about where the supposed field trip this year will take place?”

“Hmmm… I don’t think so,” Taeyong answered. “I think they’re still deciding on a head first before a place.”

“Oh, I see,” Jaehyun replied, not really knowing anything else to respond.

He didn’t have to scramble for another topic after that, because Taeyong beat him to it before he could even start. “Anyway, if you’re not in a rush, you can join my table over there.” He gestured towards a table with an all too familiar messenger bag on top of it which indicated that it was reserved.

“Ah…” Jaehyun trailed, subconsciously scratching the back of his neck. “I can’t.”

“Okay,” Taeyong replied quickly, face turning grim.

It alarmed Jaehyun. Even though he knew it wasn’t his responsibility or obligation to clarify why, he still did so, not wanting Taeyong to get the wrong idea. “It’s not that I don’t want to catch up,” he began. “I just have company right now.”

“Oh,” Taeyong sounded mildly surprised. “Boyfriend?”

Yeah, he still got the wrong idea.

"No, no, no, no,” Jaehyun was quick to deny. “He’s… uh… an acquaintance. A colleague, actually. A history researcher. Needed him for this new lesson plan and project I’m working on.”

He glanced worriedly at Doyoung to see what he was doing, and Taeyong followed suit. Doyoung wasn’t doing anything odd yet—just observing a tissue from the pile on their table intently.

“I see,” Taeyong remarked.

“Here you go Jae!” Jeonghan called, offering Jaehyun the tray where his drinks and cakes were placed.

He let out a sigh of relief before smiling again at Taeyong. “Well, I’ll see you around then.”

Taeyong returned the gesture. “See you.”

When he made his way back to their table, Doyoung completely lost interest in the tissue and was looking over at the counter instead.

“Who’s that?” he asked after Jaehyun set their food on the table and took his seat.

“No one,” Jaehyun replied, not because it was true, but because he believed Taeyong was none of Doyoung’s concerns.

The other guy didn’t push any further, which Jaehyun was supposed to be thankful for, hadn’t he smirked instead.

“Huh…” Doyoung sounded extremely amused. “And you tell me I’m the lovesick one.”

Jaehyun was unable to resist the urge to roll his eyes. “Shut up.”

Doyoung only shrugged, still eyeing Taeyong from a distance.

“Oh, quit it,” Jaehyun said, pushing the cup of coffee towards him to avert his attention. “Here. I got you my favorite coffee.”

“Favorite…” Doyoung repeated, intrigued as to why Jaehyun used that word. He carefully picked up his own cup, wincing a little bit at the sudden heat that made contact with his skin, blew a little air over the drink and tasted it.

Jaehyun didn’t realize he was on the edge of his seat, gauging Doyoung’s expression as he drank the coffee. He felt a little bit responsible for claiming that it was his favorite, that’s why he was waiting for Doyoung’s reaction.

When the emperor set his cup down and let the aftertaste linger on his lips for a while, Jaehyun finally asked, “How was it?”

“Hmmm…” Doyoung responded, but he wasn’t really contemplating. “I liked the other one you made.”

Jaehyun wasn’t expecting that. “What?”

“The one back at your house,” Doyoung answered. “That’s a better coffee. Dare I say, it’s _my_ favorite.”

“Oh,” that was all Jaehyun could say, not really knowing how to respond. Inside, he was flattered. He settled on changing the topic instead. “So, tell me what you wished for?”

Doyoung picked up his cup again. “Why?”

“Well, if I’m going to help you, I have to know.”

The cup didn’t reach Doyoung’s lips. He looked at Jaehyun with wide eyes. “You’ll help me?”

Taeyeon was right. Doyoung seemed to always gravitate back to their apartment, so passing the responsibility of taking care of him to anyone other than them was just a waste of time. Plus, Taeyeon was already working on finding a way to help him get back to his own period. All they have to do is help him… figure out stuff and look after him until he has to go back.

“You said so yourself, you can’t really go away,” Jaehyun pointed out.

Doyoung nodded. He took a long sip from his coffee and slowly put it down, letting out a deep breath after doing so like he was bidding time. Jaehyun figured that was most likely the case.

“The thing is…” Doyoung began, sounding mildly embarrassed. “I wished for love.”

Jaehyun blinked.

Doyoung glared at him, crimson now coloring his cheeks. “I’m serious.”

“I never said you weren’t.”

“You were looking at me like I told you the sun and moon was going to collide.”

“I wasn’t!”

Doyoung rolled his eyes. He wasn’t wrong, anyway. Jaehyun found it unbelievable. To think that one of the most renowned personalities of history was transported to the future all because he wished for love—it seemed a little bit incredulous.

Just a little bit.

Doyoung was still blushing furiously despite his defensive demeanor.

Okay, perhaps not just a little bit.

“The thing is,” Doyoung continued, now refusing to look at Jaehyun. “My little brother… confided in me.”

Jaehyun knew who he was talking about. In his years of studying and teaching about Doyoung, Jeno was already a familiar name.

“Jeno—that’s him—came up to me one day and asked if it was… okay to fall in love. And I told him it was more than okay, in fact, it was perfectly normal, despite me having not experienced it at all. I just knew it must be nice. My parents… they were one of the few couples in our place that genuinely loved each other despite being in an arranged marriage. They grew up in the palace together, became friends, fell in love. I knew this, because every time I look at my father, I’d always see him looking at my mother like he would bend the entire world for her. Like he would capture the moon and stars for her, and I would see my mother looking at him just the same.”

“And then there’s my butler—Taeil, I don’t know if the future knows about him. Honestly, you should—and he has this person with him, someone outside the palace he always wrote letters to. Every time I’d ask him about this person, he’ll enter this… state, where he looks so full of life but calm. And he’d tell me stories about this person for hours, and you could tell just by listening to him that it must be nice to fall in love.”

“When I told Jeno all of these, he asked me afterwards if it was okay to fall in love with a boy. My heart ached for him, because even though, to me, it wasn’t a problem, I feared that the nation wouldn’t see the same. That time, I was thankful that I was going to be king because if it was Jeno, he would be giving up this love he found.”

“It was with the stable boy. I would always catch them playing in the gardens every after lessons, and after Jeno confessed to me about that, I noticed the way he looked at the stable boy. It was the same way my parents looked at each other, the same way Taeil looked whenever he told me stories about his lover, the same way that stable boy looked at him. Ah, bless Mark. He really makes Jeno happy.”

Jaehyun didn’t even realize he was invested in the story until Doyoung paused for a while. For quite a part of his life, he learned about this emperor, memorized facts and trivias about him, but having the actual Doyoung seated across him, sharing a portion of his life, Jaehyun realized that there was more to the king than what the textbooks said about him.

“I just felt like,” Doyoung continued after a long pause. “I’m missing out.”

Jaehyun nodded slowly. “And then you’re here.”

“Yes.”

He couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped his throat.

Doyoung groaned. “You’re laughing.”

“Am not,” Jaehyun replied after recovering.

“You clearly are,” Doyoung huffed. “You are clearly making a fool out of me. I should have you on trial for disrespect.”

“No, no, no, no,” Jaehyun told him, but he was still smiling, courtesy of the round of chuckles he just had. “I mean, it makes sense.”

Doyoung scoffed.

“I’m serious! Listen to me,” Jaehyun urged, the gears in his brain working. “Maybe, you have to find love in order for you to become what you are today.”

There was a pause. “Dead?”

Jaehyun resisted the urge to rest his face on his palms. “No!” he exclaimed a little bit too loudly. “A writing legend.”

Doyoung was still giving him a look that was a fix of _I don’t get you_ and _you have to be joking._

“Look, you said so yourself a while ago, you don’t really write about love. You never even considered it,” Jaehyun explained. “But according to history, you’re one of the greatest writers out there. You’re admired in the name of romance. Perhaps, you were taken here so you could learn more about it, not just from what you were used to back in your time period. If even until now, the multitudes of this generation still hold your poems with high regards, then it must mean you understood where they’re coming from, and knew how to touch their hearts.”

Doyoung only blinked after Jaehyun’s long speech, and then, “Because I was here.”

Jaehyun smiled, feeling proud of himself. “Exactly.”

Doyoung nodded appreciatively, taking another sip of his coffee before saying, “That’s a smart thought.”

“Until then,” Jaehyun told him, taking his own cup. “You’re stuck with me, I guess. And Johnny and Jungwoo too.”

“Yes,” Doyoung replied to nothing in particular. “Perhaps I am.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [🍃] domestic chapter (kind of? not really but this is pure dojae fluff in my opinion)
> 
> [🍃] a board game called “Game of the Generals” was heavily featured here, so there’s an entire paragraph there of me explaining how it works, but you don’t have to understand the game to read the part that features it.
> 
> [🍃] i’m bad at descriptions but the fit that doyoung had on the latter part of the chapter was an outfit from the boss stage performances :)
> 
> [🍃] warning for alcohol!! it’s just one scene
> 
> [🍃] song at the end is taylor swift's all too well (as u can tell im a big swiftie lol)

_Twenty stitches in a hospital room_

_When you started crying, baby, I did too_

_When the sun came up, I was looking at you_

**✦✦✦**

  
  


When they arrived home, Johnny was already there, lounging on the sofa while flicking between channels, the exhaustion from the trip he hosted taking its toll on him. When he saw Doyoung follow Jaehyun inside the house, he fell off the couch out of surprise.

“He’s… he’s—”

“Still here, yes,” Jaehyun supplied for him, putting his shoes in the rack and handing a spare pair of home slippers to Doyoung who followed his lead. “And for quite a long time.”

Johnny looked at Jaehyun incredulously. “Is he really the _king?_ ” 

“I look forward to being acquainted with you,” Doyoung told him.

“Uh…” Johnny replied unintelligently. “Oh… uh… okay, your majesty.”

“Please, I think it is only fitting that you refer to me as Doyoung for now.”

“Doyoung…” Johnny repeated, like he was testing how the name sounded with his voice. “Doyoung…”

The king nodded. “That’s my name.”

“Right, right, of course,” Johnny replied, and then he turned to Jaehyun. “Why can’t we send him to the police or something?”

Jaehyun let out a sigh. “It’s no use. Some kind of magic keeps bringing him back here to our apartment, so we can’t really get rid of him.”

“Magic,” Johnny looked frantically at Doyoung who now indulged himself in the program Johnny was recently watching. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“We have an emperor from the 1300s with us, Johnny. What other explanation can we have?”

“Yeah, but he can be… I don’t know… just some extremely troubled guy who resorted to believing that he’s a person from the past as some sort of coping mechanism.”

“That is pretty elaborate,” Jaehyun glanced a little bit at Doyoung only to find the other invested on the television screen, not really caring about their conversation. “I guess it’s also quite a coincidence that he matches everything in that biography book?”

Johnny opened his mouth to counter Jaehyun’s statement, but closed it after being unable to respond. Jaehyun raised an eyebrow in an ‘I told you so’ manner. His friend sighed and declared that he was just going to tune his thoughts out by watching on the television, which was how he ended up seated beside Doyoung (who couldn’t seem to get enough of the show as well), deeply invested with the program on screen.

When Jungwoo came home after work, he groaned at the sight that greeted him. Johnny and Doyoung didn’t mind him as he marched his way towards Jaehyun who was perched up on a bar stool by the dinner area, helping himself with some chips.

“I really thought I was just imagining things,” Jungwoo grumbled, hand diving into Jaehyun’s bowl of snacks. “God, how is this shit even possible?”

“Beats me,” Jaehyun replied. He was mildly surprised that Jungwoo didn’t really need as much convincing unlike Johnny a while ago. “This means you’re going to lend him some more clothes.”

Jungwoo almost choked on his chips. “Why me?”

“Why not you?”

“Because—” he groaned, proceeding to head upstairs. “Whatever! That’s all I’m doing, and then you can count me out with this… time travel shit… or whatever this thing is.”

Jungwoo ended up lending Doyoung a plushie as well. When Jaehyun raised his eyebrows at him as Jungwoo handed the pile, his friend only scowled at him.

The next day was a weekend, and none of them really had any work scheduled. Which meant more awkwardness around the house. (Jaehyun believed it was one-sided, because Doyoung seemed to think that the wary stares Jungwoo and Johnny were giving him during breakfast was normal).

Jungwoo spent the day browsing through Netflix, Johnny occasionally joining in while constantly texting Ten, and Jaehyun just had Doyoung tailing him wherever he went.

(“What is that liquid?”

“It’s a dishwashing liquid.”)

(“This looks terrifying.

“That’s a laptop.”)

(“Why do you subject your food to the cold?”

“That is… a refrigerator.”)

Other than the king’s curious questions, he mostly kept to himself, just observing around the house as Jaehyun did a chore or task. Sometimes, he would roam around to where Johnny and Jungwoo would be lounging, just staring at them as they did their thing.

Johnny was intimidated. “I feel like I’m being watched by someone from the FBI,” he told Jaehyun once while Doyoungw as observing the microwave. “But instead, this person has the ability to order my head off anytime.”

“He’s… fascinated,” Jaehyun would reply.

Jungwoo, however, was just annoyed. While Doyoung was observing Johnny as the guy made lunch, Jungwoo took this as an opportunity to tell Jaehyun, “I will beat his royal ass.”

Jaehyun didn’t respond to that.

Dinner was the same; Johnny was intimidated, Jungwoo was annoyed, Doyoung thought everything was normal, and Jaehyun was just questioning his decisions. All while they feasted on Jaehyun’s ramyun.

Since tomorrow was also a weekend, none of them opted to sleep early that night. Jungwoo brought down his board of Game of the Generals downstairs and challenged Johnny to play against him.

“You’ll just lose again,” Johnny told him while smiling on his phone, probably texting Ten.

Jungwoo smirked. “You can’t be sure of that until you actually beat me.”

“Which I have done for more than ten times already.”

“Jaehyun!” Jungwoo called, ignoring Johnny’s recent statement. “Be the arbiter.”

“Okay,” Jaehyun replied, pocketing his phone. Doyoung, who was lost in a home furniture magazine, perked up at the sight of Jungwoo setting up the board game.

He seemed delighted at the sight. “Are those war pieces?”

Johnny blinked at him. “War what?”

“War pieces,” He repeated. “The things you use to plan out a strategy against warring threats.”

“It’s something like that,” Johnny replied, taking the seat across Jungwoo. Jaehyun settled on the one in between them, the board laid out in the center.

Doyoung crossed his eyebrows as Johnny and Jungwoo arranged their respective pieces. “Who are we fighting?”

“It’s a game,” Jaehyun explained to him. “Designed on war strategy, somehow. Two players have two sets of pieces, and each piece represents a rank. From being a private, a coronel, up to being a five star general.”

Doyoung blinked. “And how does it work?”

“You’ll see,” Jaehyun said as he searched the mechanics on his phone. After that, he handed it to Doyoung. “Read that.”

Johnny and Jungwoo then played the game, Jaehyun being the arbiter while Doyoung read through the manual on Jaehyun’s phone, occasionally peering at the ongoing battle while doing so.

Game of the Generals was a game that required skills in formulating an effective strategy while being able to fool your opponent at the same time. Each piece had a designated rank which, depending on their place in the hierarchy, are able to eliminate a piece of a lower rank should they challenge it. It’s kind of like chess, actually. The catch is, only the player is aware of the ranks that his pieces hold, the labels visible only to him. In turn, he wouldn’t be able to see the ranks of his opponent’s pieces. Which highlights the need for an arbiter. They would be able to see the ranks of pieces from both sides; so when a player’s piece challenges their opponent’s, the arbiter will remove the piece with the lower rank without telling them what exactly was it that he removed.

“And you win by capturing the flag of the opponent,” Doyoung clarified, returning Jaehyun’s phone. “Which could be captured by any piece.”

“That,” Jaehyun agreed, waiting for Johnny to make his move. “Or you can move your flag to the opponent’s base. Do either one of those and you win.”

Doyoung nodded, raising an eyebrow at Johnny’s move. He was able to see the arrangement of the pieces from both sides.

Jungwoo made his move. Jaehyun was amused by how invested Doyoung was with the game, like he was analyzing every movement.

After a few more turns, when Johnny finally moved a piece on the last row of Jungwoo’s base and revealed it as his flag, he won. Jungwoo let out a loud groan.

“I won again!” he beamed. “See? I told you you’ll lose.”

Jungwoo scoffed. “You were just lucky.”

“He wasn’t,” Doyoung interrupted, still eyeing the remaining pieces on the board. “You were just terrible at deciding which pieces to move.”

“Here we go...” Jaehyun muttered under his breath, knowing how much Doyoung irked Jungwoo the entire day.

“Oh yeah?” Jungwoo challenged. “Tell me with which move was I wrong then.”

Doyoung didn’t even hesitate. “Here,” he took Jungwoo’s four star general piece. “With the way this piece was surrounded,” he pointed at the flag. “You should’ve known by then that _that_ was his flag. You got his five star general a while ago. The next thing he got that could come close to that was the four star general. And maybe the spy, but,” he took two more pieces. “You could eliminate it with these two privates.”

Jaehyun was impressed. Now that Doyoung pointed that out, Jungwoo’s defeat seemed to make more sense.

Jungwoo scowled while Johnny let out a “Woah…”

“If you’re so good then,” Jungwoo taunted. “Then take my place and beat Johnny. I’ll be your arbiter.”

Doyoung seemed delighted at the idea of participating. “Gladly!”

Jungwoo’s sudden bitter attitude towards Johnny changed the instant they started rearranging their pieces. “I’m rooting for you!”

Jaehyun couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” Jungwoo asked him as he took the seat in the middle. “Johnny will end this game in just a few minutes.”

He was right about one thing. The game did end in just a few minutes. He was, however, wrong with who ended it.

“I claim victory!” Doyoung proclaimed smugly. 

Johnny, instead of feeling dejected that he was beaten, just looked even more impressed. “That was… amazing.”

“My father often includes me during strategy meetings,” Doyoung told them. “Perhaps I must’ve picked up on a few things from those.”

Jungwoo, however, wasn’t delighted. “You,” he pointed accusingly at Doyoung. “Are not allowed to wear my clothes anymore.”

Doyoung looked puzzled. “Because I won?”

“Exactly,” Jaehyun replied, chuckling. “He couldn’t stand the fact that you won.”

“It was beginner’s luck,” Jungwoo attempted to say nonchalantly. “I mean, it was his first game.”

Doyoung tilted his head to the side. “Then, may I perhaps indulge you in a challenge?”

“Oooh!” Johnny was eager to get up from his seat. “Do it, Jungwoo!”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun joined in. “Don’t back out now.”

“I won’t,” Jungwoo huffed, taking Johnny’s seat and proceeding to rearrange his pieces. “I’ll even make a bet.”

“What bet?” Jaehyun asked the same time Johnny said, “You’re going to set yourself up.”

“I’m serious,” Jungwoo replied, ignoring Johnny’s statement. “If I win, he won’t be able to wear my clothes anymore. If he wins, I’ll buy him clothes tomorrow.”

Jaehyun laughed, admiring his friend’s boldness. Doyoung, however, was just seated there, a lazy smile playing on his face as he responded with, “I accept your challenge.”

“Great!” Jungwoo exclaimed, ignoring Johnny who was constantly saying _tsk_ directed at him. “Prepare for downfall, your majesty.”

Needless to say, he spoke too soon.

In just a matter of minutes, fewer than the game that preceded theirs, Doyoung was able to capture his flag.

“What the—how did you even know that was my flag?!” Jungwoo bellowed.

Doyoung smirked. “You’re not good at defense. Your two spies and five star general are all in this area,” he pointed at the region where he managed to capture Jungwoo’s flag. “Which only meant that you’re guarding the important piece. It wasn’t difficult to deduce.”

Jungwoo hit his head lightly against the table. “Damn it, damn it, damn it…”

Johnny, however, was celebrating at Jungwoo’s misfortune. “Looks like you’re going to have to buy Doyoung some t-shirts tomorrow.”

“Rematch!” Jungwoo exclaimed, sitting right up. “I want a rematch!”

But no matter how many rematches he asked, Doyoung always won. And as the night went by and the flags were captured, Jaehyun noticed Jungwoo and Johnny slowly dropping their guards when it came to Doyoung, and eventually, they all blended in comfortably.

For a while, Jaehyun believed that it would only last for that night, but when the next morning came by and Johnny and Doyoung started teaming up against Jungwoo while he prepared their breakfast, he was proven wrong.

Just like that, Doyoung managed to fit right in easily into their lives.

**✦✦✦**

Even though the original plan for today was to buy Doyoung some clothes, Jaehyun was now starting to think that his friends used that as an excuse to indulge in their own shopaholic endeavors as well.

Johnny immediately went to the perfume section while Jungwoo headed to the stationery stalls on the second floor, telling Jaehyun to text him once Doyoung found the clothes he wanted. That left Jaehyun and Doyoung alone to hunt through piles and racks.

Today, Doyoung wore Jungwoo’s least favorite button up (something Jaehyun believed his friend did out of spite) tucked in Jungwoo’s, again, least favorite jeans. Still, Doyoung looked decent in them. _Pretty_ decent actually, with heavy emphasis on the pretty.

“Whatever,” Jungwoo had raised his hands up in surrender when Doyoung came out of the guest room wearing his clothes. “I’m done sabotaging you. They never work.”

Which probably prompted Doyoung to mention to Jaehyun his observations while they were going through some on-sale clothes. “Your friend doesn’t like me”

“Jungwoo?” Jaehyun asked, even though he knew who Doyoung was pertaining to already.

“Yes, that one.”

“I don’t think so…” Jaehyun replied truthfully, sorting through some shirts. “I mean, if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have given you that plushie. Plus, he still lends you his clothes and even offered to buy you some.”

“Because he lost a challenge,” Doyoung pointed out, but Jaehyun could see the corner of his lips turning up, probably relieved to know that Jungwoo didn’t really dislike him.

Jaehyun knew it wasn’t wise to spend a good amount of money to buy Doyoung an entire wardrobe, he took the guy to the part of the department store where an ongoing sale up to fifty percent discount was happening. He figured that if the guy looked good in Jungwoo’s supposed least favorite clothes, then he would be able to pull any outfit off.

Doyoung wasn’t really picking anything. Most of the time, he was just looking around as usual, muttering about how the markets in his time period “didn’t have such advancements”, verbatim.

At least Jaehyun managed to get a decent amount of clothes that seemed to be Doyoung’s size. “Here,” he gestured towards the pile he was holding. “Try these on.”

“Okay,” Doyoung simply replied. He then proceeded to unbutton his top.

Jaehyun’s eyes widened, realizing what was happening. He quickly grabbed Doyoung’s hands to stop the other into discarding his clothes in public.

Doyoung, as usual, looked puzzled. “I thought I’m supposed to try these on?”

“Yes, but not where everyone can see,” Jaehyun hissed quietly, dragging Doyoung to where he remembered the fitting room was. He found a vacant stall and motioned for the other guy to get inside. “Here. Lock the door while you’re changing. When you’re done, call for me so we can see if it suits you.”

After several minutes, just as soon as Jaehyun completed his fourth new level on his mobile game, he heard Doyoung call for him. “Jaehyun?”

“I’m here,” he said as he got up from his seat by the lobby, making his way in front of Doyoung’s stall. “Open up.”

Jaehyun would be lying if he said he wasn’t the littlest bit… excited to see Doyoung in another casual outfit. Somehow, seeing the guy in much more modern clothes than a hanbok that’s not usually worn everyday was the more surprising one.

But when Doyoung opened the door to the stall, Jaehyun was disappointed to see the other guy in the same button up and jeans he wore when he went inside.

“Seriously?” Jaehyun deadpanned.

Doyoung crossed his eyebrows. “What?”

“I thought you were going to try them on!”

“I did!” Doyoung justified. “You told me to try them on inside. Was I supposed to show them to you?”

“Nevermind that now,” Jaehyun said, fighting the blush rising up his cheeks as he swatted the thought of _yes, you should’ve shown them to me_ away. “That’ll only take more time. Did you at least like them?”

Doyoung nodded. “They were very comfortable.”

“Okay then,” Jaehyun said, pulling out his phone to text Jungwoo.

**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ jae ]_

hey, we got a few shirts and jeans ready to buy

wru

_[ jung ]_

jeez

for a sec i thought u were gonna be a good friend and pay for those instead </3

_[ jae ]_

are we kidding

_[ jung ]_

zzzzz ofc i was joking

be there in a while

_[ john ]_

did u get him underwear

_[ jung ]_

//GASPS// JOHNNY…..

but he has a point

_[ jae ]_

…..

do i rlly have to accompany him in doing so

_[ jung ]_

be thankful youre not the one paying LOL

_[ jae ]_

fine

_[ john ]_

meanwhile ill head to the nearest fast food and save us a seat

it’s probably gonna be mcdonalds

just head over there after shopping for underwear <333333

_[ jae ]_

-________-

**✦✦✦**

When Monday came and everybody had to go to work, they all agreed that Doyoung shouldn’t be left alone in the house, at least for now. That’s how Jaehyun found himself having the said guy following him all around campus like a little puppy. At least, this time around, Doyoung wasn’t wandering every single second. In fact, instead of trying to get his answers by staring at an object for minutes, he settled with small talk with Jaehyun.

(“So, this variation of courses is meant to help students be more open about what they want to do in the future.”

“Exactly.”)

They were getting along well, mostly talking about university stuff, until Jaehyun had to drop by the lobby of the faculty floor to grab extra things for his next lecture and a co-worker decided that that was the right time to ask him about his companion.

“I’ve never seen them before,” Sooyoung told him. “They’re _cute_! New boyfriend?”

“What? No!” Jaehyun was quick to dismiss. “He’s… uh… a colleague. A history researcher. Pretty well versed, dare I say.”

“Oooooh…” Sooyoung gushed, winking at Doyoung who just gave her a confused stare. “What’s his name?”

Before Doyoung could reply with his actual name and weird everyone out, Jaehyun blurted out the first name that came to his mind. “Charlie.”

Doyoung looked at him incredulously.

“Charlie?” Sooyoung repeated.

Jaehyun nodded.

“Cute name for a cute guy, I guess,” she giggled, picking up some extra materials on the desk which was the real reason she was over there in the first place. “Well, I have class now. See you around, Jaehyun,” she then winked at a bewildered Doyoung again. “Charlie.”

When both Jaehyun and Doyoung were on their way to Jaehyun’s first class, the latter decided to complain about the name. “Charlie? Of all names you could have possibly given me… you chose Charlie?”

“It was the first thing I thought of,” Jaehyun replied defensively. “If you told them your name was Doyoung, they wouldn’t take you seriously.”

“Still… Charlie?” Doyoung complained. “It’s such a… white name. Do I look white to you?”

Jaehyun held back a chuckle. “Don’t be picky now, I’m the one trying to help you here.”

Doyoung didn’t banter with him any further. But throughout their walk, Jaehyun would hear him muttering phrases like _Charlie, I don’t even look like a Charlie, what if I called_ him _Charlie,_ and just little complaints that Jaehyun found funny, if he was being honest.

It only occurred to Jaehyun that he can’t exactly have Doyoung lounging near him by the podium during lectures when they reached the hall. A few students were already there, some of them hastily hiding the essays they were probably cramming for another class.

“Hey prof!” Doyoung chirped from in front. His eyes then widened at the sight of Doyoung following Jaehyun.

“Hi,” Jaehyun greeted. He then gestured towards Doyoung, not wanting Donghyuck to get the wrong idea. “This is Sir Charlie, a colleague of mine. He’s going to be supervising the class for some time.”

“Ohhh…” Donghyuck trailed. “Nice to meet you, Sir Charlie!”

Jaehyun tried not to laugh as Doyoung forced himself to smile and hide the fact that he was extremely bothered by the name. “The pleasure is mine.”

After he was sure that Doyoung was no longer actively complaining about the name, Jaehyun pulled him aside and told him in a low voice, “Just sit in the back. You don’t really have to supervise. You can even sleep.”

Doyoung nodded slowly, eyes now going to the back row. “I’m sorry, which one among those seats?”

In the end, Jaehyun had to escort him just to get him seated.

The lecture went on as usual, with half of his students either dozing off or subtly (at least, they tried to be) pulling the unfinished essay they scrambled to hide just a few moments ago. The only thing different was that Doyoung was seated at the back row, listening intently to Jaehyun as he rambled on about architecture.

“Now, who can tell me which significant place was gifted by Emperor Kun to the Kingdom of Korea?”

He didn’t really expect anyone to answer. Even Donghyuck and Renjun, two of the few ones actually listening to him and doing their readings, looked clueless.

He was about to reveal the answer when a student from the back raised their hand.

From memory, Jaehyun recalled their name. “Yes, Kunhang?”

Before Kunhang stood up, he saw Doyoung pull the boy towards him and whispered something in his ear. Kunhang nodded, stood up, and answered, “The Qian Market?”

Jaehyun saw Doyoung grin at him, and from that alone he knew what happened. He wasn’t able to fight off the smile on his face. Of course, Doyoung would know the answer. The event happened sometime during his father’s reign. He simply relayed it to the person nearest to him, and Kunhang just so happened to be the lucky student.

“That’s correct,” Jaehyun beamed. “Now, The Qian Market…”

As Jaehyun went through his discussion, more students started to pay attention. He figured it was because every time he asked a question, Kunhang would always get the right answer. It wasn’t long until they found out that _Sir Charlie_ was actually relaying the answers to the lucky guy who was just delighted he’s getting a lot of recitation points.

And every time Kunhang would state the answer proudly like he came up with it by himself, Jaehyun would always catch Doyoung’s eye who seemed to be happy to be making someone else just as happy as well.

And every single time, Jaehyun would smile.

He could get used to that.

**✦✦✦**

At their next lecture session, Jaehyun was unable to prevent the laugh that escaped him the instant he entered the room. Right there, at the back of the room, where Kunhang was once seated, were Donghyuck and Renjun, both looking excited when they saw Doyoung arrive behind Jaehyun.

Naturally, during that session, it was Donghyuck and Renjun who were reciting most of the questions, courtesy of Doyoung relaying the answers to them.

“They’re nice,” Doyoung had told Jaehyun on their way to the coffee shop. “Donghyuck and Renjun, I mean. Donghyuck even kept asking me questions about Kim Doyoung.”

Jaehyun chuckled. “It’d be funny if he knew it was you.”

Doyoung shrugged. “By the way, I believe he looked familiar.”

“Well,” Jaehyun trailed. “Remember that guy I was talking to after I took you to Taeyeon.”

Doyoung nodded.

“That’s his brother.”

“Oh,” Doyoung remarked. “You must’ve been close with him then, the brother, I mean. With the incident in the restaurant and your obvious soft spot for his little brother.”

Jaehyun smiled. “He was my ex boyfriend.”

He felt nothing as he said that. No pain, no accomplishment. Nothing.

Doyoung, however, was confused. “Ex boyfriend?”

Jaehyun tried to think of another term. “Ex lover.”

“Ahhhh…” Doyoung trailed, nodding his head. “I see. Whatever happened?”

“We fought,” Jaehyun replied. “Which was something very foreign to us. Throughout our entire relationship, I always assumed that the little arguments were just resolved quickly when in reality, they were actually dismissals and not resolutions. It just… went from there. It was bound to break anyway.”

Doyoung nodded, like he understood. “You loved him?”

“Of course.”

“Who let go?”

“He was the first to let go,” Jaehyun replied, surprisingly feeling light with everything. “Eventually, I did too.”

Normally, Jaehyun would prefer it if people didn’t ask him about the breakup. It took him a long time to heal and recover, so he didn’t want to risk relapsing anytime soon.

But perhaps him answering Doyoung’s question without hesitation, like it was just another random thought to mention, was the final testament to his progress.

Doyoung gave him a genuine smile. “I’m pleased to know telling me those no longer brought you pain.”

 _Me too,_ he thought. He let the message be conveyed through the smile he returned.

The next lecture sessions, people were scrambling to get the seats at the back near to where Doyoung would be seated. Most of the time, Donghyuck and Renjun were the ones over there. Though, there were times where other students managed to snatch the seat before them. Kunhang even got to return to his seat once.

Still, every day, Doyoung helps them out.

Every day, he catches Jaehyun’s eye.

Every day, they exchange smiles.

Every day, Jaehyun gets used to it.

Every day, Jaehyun gets used to him.

**✦✦✦**

Another weekend came by and Jungwoo once again challenged Doyoung to another board game. Jaehyun didn’t even know where Jungwoo got the chessboard; he just assumed it was another one of his friend’s impulsive buys. And to make matters more funny, Jungwoo’s reasoning for picking chess as the game to play was that he could use Doyoung’s blank slate of knowledge about it to his ultimate advantage.

“I’ll finally beat you,” Jungwoo claimed.

Again, he spoke too soon.

Even with just a short briefing on how the pieces function on the board, Doyoung managed to win the game. Albeit longer than when he played Game of the Generals, he still beat Jungwoo. In both of those games.

Johnny only laughed as he draped a comforting arm around Jungwoo who was drilling holes on the board which still had remnants of his defeat standing upright on it. “Just accept it, Woo,”

Jungwoo scowled. He challenged Doyoung to a rematch.

Doyoung won again.

“Please, please, please,” he begged Johnny after his second loss. “Please uplift my ego and lose to me.”

While Jungwoo and Johnny engaged in a new game, Doyoung made his way towards where Jaehyun was hunched over the dining table, typing on his laptop relentlessly.

“Hey,” he took the seat beside Jaehyun and peeked at his screen. “Are you not going to join Jungwoo’s new endeavor?”

Jaehyun offered him a sad smile. “Even if I want to, I can’t,” he jerked his head to the laptop screen again. “I have to do something.”

Doyoung squinted his eyes at the device. “I… do not understand anything.”

That made Jaehyun chuckle. “I’m working on a column for our monthly publication. In fact, the article assigned to me is about your dad.”

“My father?” Doyoung asked. “King Ryeowook?”

Jaehyun nodded. “That’s the one.”

Doyoung paused, like he was mulling over something, before he offered, “Let me help.”

“I appreciate that,” Jaehyun told him sincerely.

“I’m serious,” Doyoung insisted. “Is it a subjective article?”

“Kind of?” Jaehyun responded, scrolling through the email that the head of their department sent him. “It’s more of a… personal insight on who Emperor Ryeowook was.”

“Even perfect for me to help, then,” Doyoung beamed. “If you need it in a foreign language, you can translate it and revise parts of it, if you want.”

The offer was extremely tempting. Jaehyun’s brain was exhausted from all the exams he had to make for all his classes, and this article was certainly not going in the direction he wanted because his mind was unable to work in full efficiency.

Doyoung must’ve sensed that he was about to have an internal debate, so he added, “Take a break, Jaehyun,” he nudged his head to the direction where Jungwoo was yelling at Johnny for eliminating his bishop. “They’re quite an entertainment.”

Realizing Doyoung wasn’t going to give up soon, he simply sighed and nodded. “Okay. Do you need a paper and a pen?”

“Sure, please,” Doyoung replied. “The year will end before I am even able to figure out how this gadget of yours works.”

Jaehyun laughed, browsing through his bag beside him for a pad and a pen. After he got all the stuff needed for Doyoung to use, the guy basically pushed him towards where Johnny and Jungwoo were starting their rematch, telling him to have fun.

“You know you really didn’t have to do this for me,” Jaehyun told him just before he was nudged towards the two.

“I know,” Doyoung told him. “Don’t worry, I want to.”

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun didn’t expect to be blown away first thing in the morning, and yet he was.

The first thing he did was read Doyoung’s draft of the article (which was written in an almost perfect penmanship, he noted), not exactly having any sort of expectations towards it. Perhaps that was also one of the factors why the cup of coffee he made was left forgotten as he continuously read the article by their dining table, unable to stop until he reached the last page.

“Oh, you are reading it,” he heard Doyoung from behind. “I apologize if it wasn’t good. I tried my best for you.”

“Apologize?” Jaehyun couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why would you apologize for this?”

Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding what Jaehyun implied.

“Doyoung, this…” Jaehyun was still blown away. “This is amazing.”

“It is?” the other asked, his tone filled with disbelief. “It’s the first time I have written ever since I finished my lessons before I was trained to be king.”

“Well, first time or not, this is… great,” Jaehyun breathed out. _So this was why he’s well known in literature,_ he thought. Granted, he read every accessible work that Doyoung supposedly made, but the fact that he knew how well Doyoung was supposed to be in this field and yet this still left him breathless… he was at a loss for words.

“Thank you,” Doyoung replied quietly, sounding a little bit bashful.

“Maybe this is how you become one of the greatest poets of history,” Jaehyun told him. “This must be how you discover that you write well.”

Doyoung raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps it was…” he said. And then, “But why do I write romance, of all things?”

Jaehyun was unable to give a specific answer, mostly because he, too, didn’t know why. 

So he just settled with, “Maybe start writing first and we’ll eventually find out.”

**✦✦✦**

Doyoung easily fit in their lives.

From board games, to lounging at the library with Jaehyun, to grocery shopping, to giving Jaehyun a hand with his syllabus, to watering the plants with Jungwoo, to helping Jaehyun make his students’ exams about Doyoung’s era, to befriending the neighbor’s dog and learning that its name was Sally, to random strolls around the neighborhood with Jaehyun, to brief, daily conversations with Sooyoung and other members of the faculty, to getting invested with Donghyuck’ graphic novel whenever the boy approached Jaehyun, to visiting Johnny in the museum and instantly becoming friends with Ten, to getting used to being called Charlie, to hanging out with Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Johnny and Ten almost everyday, to providing Jaehyun company whenever he had to stay up late to accomplish a task, to agreeing to Jungwoo’s idea of watching a historical drama with them just so he could tell them what was accurate and what wasn’t, to being at Jaehyun’s side all the time, to being comfortable with Jaehyun, to being with Jaehyun.

He did all that so easily.

And Jaehyun couldn’t help but dread that he would slip away just as such.

**✦✦✦**

There was a conflict with their scheduled Korean drama marathon when Yuta messaged each one of them about a party he was holding that day. They wouldn’t even consider it had they not been tempted by the supposed gift check raffle that was supposed to happen every hour during the party.

“I could use some new shoes,” Johnny wondered when they found out there was a one hundred dollar Converse gift certificate at stake.

“Hmmm…” Jungwoo considered. “We could just leave the party early since it starts early, anyway. That way we can still watch.”

“I’m in with that,” Jaehyun agreed, and because he did, Doyoung agreed too.

Johnny took it upon himself to dress Doyoung up for what he proclaimed was the king’s debut to the modern world. (“I don’t think it works that way,” Jungwoo had voiced out when Johnny made his claim. “Trust me on this, Woo,” Johnny only replied.)

Not once did Jaehyun ever doubt Johnny’s sense of fashion. He knew his friend was able to pull off whatever styling he was planning on Doyoung.Still, despite knowing those, he wasn’t really prepared when Doyoung and Johnny descended downstairs where both Johnny and Jaehyun were waiting for them.

He was sure his jaw must’ve dropped at some point.

He wasn’t even sure how Doyoung managed to look good in those clothes. He was wearing tight, black slacks and a long sleeved turtleneck top with the most peculiar design Jaehyun had ever seen (hell, half of it was even in neon green). To top it all off, Johnny had him wear a pair of tinted glasses that looked more like they were used for reading instead of as an accessory.

For a while, it almost felt like the guy in the hanbok he saw the first time and the guy at the bottom of the stairs right now were two different people.

Because, _god,_ Doyoung looked hot.

“Eyyyyy!” Jungwoo squealed from beside him, pulling Jaehyun out of his trance. “You clean up good.”

“It’s quite uncomfortable,” Doyoung mumbled, fiddling with the hem of his top. 

“We choose fashion over comfort sometimes,” Johnny told him, fixing his fringe.

Jaehyun was unable to stop himself from saying. “You—you look good,” he managed to stammer.

Doyoung seemed surprised by that, whispering a low thank you in response.

Jungwoo nudged Jaehyun, and when he turned to look at his friend, Jungwoo immediately winked. “Keep looking at him like that and he’s going to melt.”

Jaehyun simply hit his arm.

**✦✦✦**

For a party that started at four pm right under the broad afternoon sun, it sure was pretty wild.

Jaehyun shouldn’t even be surprised. Even when they were still undergraduates, Yuta always knew how to host a party. He didn’t know half of the people that attended, though. They were probably from Sicheng’s invites—he heard the two were now living together, and Sicheng even sponsored most of the prizes for the raffle.

Johnny had cursed when the Converse gift certificate was given to someone else. Ten had to finish up a task from the museum so he was unable to come, which meant the side of Johnny who constantly whined and longed for Ten was at the party.

“I will hunt down Lee Seokmin,” Johnny hissed, the name of the Converse winner sounding scary with his voice. And then, he let out a sad groan. “If only Tennie was here…”

At least he won a gift check for an appliance store a few hours later.

By the time the sun was gone and the darkness of the night bled through the sky, the background program of raffles ended and everybody was now just vibing around the venue.

Jungwoo, to be specific, found a particular interest in the open bar and was now downing what seemed to be his third glass when Jaehyun found him. His friend had really low tolerance, and Jaehyun reminded him of that, but all an obviously tipsy Jungwoo told him was, “Ehh… you’re the one driving, right? Let me have fun! Doyoung was already killjoy enough… he didn’t want to drink anything… saying something about how he didn’t like how his drunk self behaved...” 

And before Jaehyun can even come up with something else to say, whoever the DJ of the party decided that that was the right time to drop the beat and have everyone howling in glee as they made their way to the dance floor in the middle.

“Jaehyun!” Jungwoo squealed as he got up from his seat. “Listen!”

All Jaehyun could hear was the bass boosted rendition of Walk The Moon’s _Shut Up And Dance_ reverberating through the area.

“It’s our calling!” Jungwoo yelled through the music, grabbing Jungwoo’s arm and dragging him to the dance floor, not even giving him a chance to decline.

Soon enough, Jaehyun found himself in the middle of moving bodies jumping off their feet and banging their heads along to the beat. Jungwoo was among them, making weird movements that he figured was acceptable so long as they matched the rhythm.

Jungwoo frowned when he saw Jaehyun’s still figure. “Come on, loosen up!”

His friend took it upon himself to make Jaehyun dance, since he grabbed both of Jaehyun’s arms and flailed them around the air. Jaehyun pulled away, swaying a little bit just so Jungwoo didn’t have to do it for him, but then he eventually found himself actually dancing along.

“Loosen up!” Jungwoo yelled again.

And Jaehyun did.

That’s how he found himself mirroring Jungwoo’s movements, jumping on his feet, banging his head, and singing his heart out to the lyrics. Jungwoo yelled something Jaehyun wasn't able to catch, but he assumed it was something along the lines of “Let’s get it!”

The more songs passed, the more he lost himself to the beat. He was just floating around, letting himself have the time of his life.

When the DJ repeated the first song, everybody whined but they didn’t really stop dancing, so the party went on.

Sometime during the chorus, Jaehyun grew tired, his movements slowing a bit just so he was able to catch his breath.

And it happened.

Somewhere by a distance, standing by one of the tables with Johnny, was Doyoung. In all his flashing glory. And there were probably lots of people in that room and still, Jaehyun didn’t miss a beat in spotting him first.

Because when he looked at Doyoung, the other guy was already looking back at him. Like he had been watching Jaehyun all this time.

And he was smiling.

So of course, Jaehyun smiled back.

He was about to call for him, yell something like “Come dance with me!”, but it was already proven that fate liked toying with him the most because the moment he thought of that, the song ended and they were back to background beats.

Remembering Jungwoo was still tipsy beside him, he carefully grabbed his friend’s waist and led him out of the dispersing crowd.

Johnny raised an eyebrow at them amusingly when they reached their table. “Well, you guys were one to rave.”

“Twas fuuuuuuuun….” Jungwoo drawled out, a lazy smile playing on his face.

“Clearly,” Johnny replied, regarding Jungwoo’s state.

Doyoung laughed. “He was pretty… lively a while ago.”

“You would know,” Jungwoo said, weakly pointing at Doyoung. “I saw you looking at Jaehyun all the time. Whipped whipped whipped whipped whipped—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Jaehyun said, heat rising up to his cheeks, cutting Jungwoo off who only stuck his tongue out at him. He turned to Doyoung and Johnny instead. “What were you talking about?”

“This one,” Johnny answered, waving the gift certificate he won in the air. “I still don’t know what to use it for.”

“Baaaaah…” Jungwoo commented, trying to reach the certificate but instead stumbled against Jaehyun. “Why don’t you use it to buy something when you move in with Tennieeeeee…”

Jaehyun laughed as he tried to steady Jungwoo.

“I don’t like drunk Jungwoo,” Johnny joked.

“You love meeeeee...” Jungwoo sing-sang. “But you love Tennie differently more, because you’re going to move in with him and you’re gonna marry—“

“Okay, Woo,” Jaehyun interrupted again before Jungwoo could ramble. “You need to rest. We’ll go home soon.”

Jungwoo huffed, removing himself from Jaehyun’s support and leaned by the table to steady himself. “Fine!” and then he rested his head on it.

“What is he talking about?” Doyoung asked Jaehyun.

He hesitated, unsure if he should reply, so he turned to Johnny. “Something about me and Ten,” Johnny chose to answer the question himself. “He… wants me to move in with him.”

“Oh!” Doyoung seemed to like the sound of that. “That’s great!”

“What we’ve been telling hiiiiim…” moaned Jungwoo. Jaehyun silently agreed.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Doyoung asked, genuinely confused.

No one answered. Not even Jungwoo who Jaehyun was sure would start rambling any second courtesy of drunk state. Still, it was Johnny who broke the silence. “I guess… I’m scared.”

Jaehyun knew that. But it was the first time he ever heard Johnny admit it outloud. Perhaps he was also admitting that to himself that time.

Doyoung shrugged. “And?”

“And…” Johnny continued, suddenly finding interest at the gift certificate in his hands. “That was it. I was scared. Because all my life, I’ve never found anyone like Ten; someone who keeps me on ground, someone who supports me wholeheartedly and but still knows when to call me out, someone amazing, someone I love with every bit of my weary, wasted heart. And I’m scared that once I agree to move in with him, to take this next step of commitment, I might mess things up. When… I met him, he was basically stealing hearts. And yet he chose me. Somehow, he chose me. And I’m scared I’m going to ruin that, and hurt him, and we’ll both be broken and I’m going to lose him.”

Jaehyun placed a comforting hand on Johnny’s shoulder. Even Jungwoo, in his drunken stupor, managed to drape an arm around Johnny’s shoulder.

Doyoung was the only one who made a comment about what Johnny confessed. “I see,” he began. “May I speak about it?”

Johnny nodded lightly, still focused on the gift certificate.

“I can understand why you’re scared,” Doyoung spoke. “I have seen the way you two look at each other. I saw the exact same thing of people I knew who were deeply in love with one another.”

Jaehyun recalled back to the time Doyoung told him about the love he witnessed, and how he wanted to find that.

“I think he’s scared too,” Doyoung continued. “Ten, I mean. I think you’re on the same page. I could see it in the two of you that you would never give each other up. He’s scared too, Johnny.”

Johnny stopped fiddling with the gift certificate.

“But I believe he took the risk for you.”

Silence.

“Because no matter how scary the future might be,” Doyoung added. “Or any part of time, for that matter. No matter how uncertain everything may be, above all that, Ten was sure about one thing.”

Jaehyun found himself nodding along. He could see Jungwoo doing the same.

“He’s sure that he loves you,” Doyoung breathed out. “And I believe you too, are sure, that you love him just as much.”

Johnny stayed silent for a few more minutes before finally looking up to meet Doyoung’s eyes. He offered him a small smile. “You’re right,” he said meekly, like he was telling it to himself first before Doyoung.

“Bravoooooo!” Jungwoo squealed. “Very well said! Now, I don’t want to ruin the moment buuuuuuut can I puke somewhere?”

Jaehyun chuckled. “I’ll find Yuta and tell him that we’re going home.”

Nobody countered him.

**✦✦✦**

The first thing Jungwoo did when they arrived back home was rush to the bathroom upstairs where the others could hear him throwing up. Johnny went after him to make sure he was alright, which left Jaehyun and Doyoung in the living room.

“He’s going to be alright,” Jaehyun reassured him before he could even ask.

Doyoung only chuckled. “I know,” he replied. “I had to take care of Jeno too when he had too much ale. Had to handle him so our parents wouldn’t find out he and Mark have been raiding the wine cellar again.”

Jaehyun smiled, partly because of the entertaining memory, but mostly because of the fond look Doyoung had on his face when he said that.

“Still can’t believe you didn’t drink.” _Still can’t believe you didn’t dance with me._

Doyoung shrugged. “Are we still going to watch the film you were talking about?” he asked, ignoring Jaehyun’s statement.

“I don’t know...” he answered truthfully. “I don’t think Jungwoo’s up for anything now other than sleep.”

“Oh,” Doyoung remarked, sounding a little bit dejected. He was looking forward to it.

Jaehyun picked up on that. “Jungwoo’s seen the film a lot of times,” he reassured, patting the other guy’s shoulder lightly. “We can watch it without him. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Let’s wash up and then start watching.”

They went to their respective rooms to get out of their party clothes and change into something more comfortable. After slipping into an oversized shirt and a worn out pair of jersey shorts, Jaehyun went over to Jungwoo’s room to see how he was holding up. His friend was snoring soundly, wearing a fresh new t-shirt that was bigger than what he usually wore. Johnny must’ve taken it upon himself to change Jungwoo’s outfit.

When Jaehyun went to Johnny’s room to call him for the movie, he found his friend sitting cross legged on top of his bed already in a fresh set of clothes, setting up his laptop.

“Movie?” Jaehyun asked from the doorframe.

Johnny shook his head and gave him an apologetic smile. “Ten.”

“Ahhhh...” Jaehyun said. “He wanted to talk?”

“Not really,” Johnny replied, blushing as he focused on his laptop again. “I... kind of miss him a little bit more tonight.”

Jaehyun smiled, understanding. “Of course.”

“Have fun with the movie with Doyoung, though!” Johnny called as Jaehyun closed the door.

Doyoung was already in a set of pajamas that Johnny gave him, raising an eyebrow when Jaehyun descended down the stairs alone. “Johnny?”

Jaehyun only replied with “Ten,” and with that alone, Doyoung understood.

He wasn’t going to deny that out of the three of them who live in this house, he was closest to Doyoung the most. In fact, if you were going to look at it, he and Doyoung have spent more time together lately than any of them did with either Jungwoo or Johnny. It sort of became an agreement at the start that Jaehyun, being the one who accepted Doyoung in the household, bore most of the responsibility, but honestly, it never felt like that.

In fact, it was a company that Jaehyun enjoyed. 

Which was why he wasn’t really complaining when he and Doyoung were left alone in the living room, seated beside each other on one of the longer couches, with Jaehyun searching up a famous historical Korean drama for them to enjoy together.

At some point while he was busy browsing through titles, Doyoung got up and returned with a couple bags of chips.

“Wow,” Jaehyun remarked, taking one of the packs. “I don’t remember buying these.”

“Johnny and I bought them the other day at the convenience store,” Doyoung replied, like it was normal that he was tagging along with Johnny to places. Like it was normal that he knew which was Jaehyun’s favorite chips. Like it was normal that he was now familiar with the apartment like the back of his hand.

Like he was going to stay for a long time.

They ended up watching one episode of a well renowned drama, but they didn’t watch quietly. Doyoung didn’t hold himself back from making comments about the plot, the setting, and any other detail he could point out.

“You know, that’s not exactly true,” he whispered to Jaehyun when the leading girl in the drama said she wasn’t allowed to go to school. “My father has been working on improving the law so that all children of the land would be able to get the proper education they need.”

“I know,” Jaehyun told him reassuringly. “It was in the history books.”

Doyoung smiled.

Throughout an entire episode and a half, they went on like that, with the little space between them on the couch gradually disappearing as the time passed by and the story in the television went on until Doyoung’s head was now subconsciously resting against Jaehyun’s shoulder.

And then, Doyoung yawned loudly. Jaehyun chuckled. “I think it’s time to sleep.”

“N—“ another yawn from him interrupted that. “—No.”

“Come on,” Jaehyun lifted the shoulder Doyoung was resting on a little bit, trying to get him to move. “Are you even listening to the show?”

“Of course!” Doyoung replied in defense. “They’re currently talking about how the general was about to betray the main character’s father.”

“Okay, fine, let’s keep watching.”

And then, after a few seconds, Doyoung yawned loudly again. Jaehyun paused the drama.

“Perhaps,” Doyoung said before Jaehyun could comment on it. “I just need a little bit of encouragement.”

Jaehyun was unable to hold back his laughter. “Encouragement?”

“To not fall asleep.”

“How exactly are we going to do that?”

“I don’t know,” Doyoung admitted, looking at Jaehyun warily. “Maybe we can do that thing you did at the party.”

Jaehyun paused for a while, trying to figure out what the other guy was talking about. And then, “Dance?”

Doyoung nodded.

He felt heat rising up to his cheeks. “You’re not joking?”

“I saw you a while ago, you know,” Doyoung told him. “You felt... full of life. I didn’t really get a chance to do that a while ago because I was very wary of the people around us, but tonight, it’s just the two of us, so...”

Jaehyun considered it, while his heart was hammering so fast in his chest with the knowledge that Doyoung was indeed watching him lose himself to the music a while ago.

He figured it wouldn’t hurt to do it, and he _did_ want to dance with Doyoung a while ago. Jaehyun reached for his phone, played the first lively song he found and dragged Doyoung with him as he stood up.

Doyoung yawned again.

“Look,” Jaehyun said, starting to step in his place according to the beat. “If you’re not going to dance you’re going to fall asleep.”

“What is he talking about?” Doyoung asked, pertaining to the western artist whose song was playing from Jaehyun’s phone. Doyoung slowly started to move through the rhythm as well.

Jaehyun laughed. “You wouldn’t want to know.”

Doyoung crossed his eyebrows, now mirroring the weird hand gestures Jaehyun came up with. “Try me.”

“Well,” Jaehyun began. “He’s singing about... leaving a trail of broken hearts.”

Doyoung blinked before breaking into laughter. “What a bad guy.”

“Yeah,”

It didn’t take long for them to completely immerse themselves into the music, dancing with no particular technique as they tried to keep up with the beat, the message of the song completely forgotten. And in that moment, all Jaehyun remembered was Doyoung, and feeling light, and Doyoung, and wholesome laughter, and Doyoung, and mismatched steps that still went together, and Doyoung.

They stopped dancing once the song stopped too, both of them staring at each other with wide grins while trying to catch their breaths.

“Feeling more awake?” Jaehyun asked.

“Yes,” Doyoung replied. “And alive too.”

Before they could do anything else, the next song on Jaehyun’s phone played, courtesy of his songs played in shuffle. The next tune that greeted them was slower than the one before it. In fact, it felt lonelier.

Doyoung raised an eyebrow. “What song is that?”

 _”I walked through the door with you, the air was cold,”_ the song went on.

“It’s... a painful song, so to say,” Jaehyun replied.

_”But something about it felt like home somehow,”_

Doyoung nodded, and for a few seconds, they just let the song play, let the artist sing her woes through the air, before he asked, “What is she singing about?”

“ _Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place and I can picture it after all these days,”_

Jaehyun listened to the song a little bit more.

_”And I know it’s long gone and that magic’s not here no more,“_

“Heartbreak,” he simply replied.

_”And I might be okay but I’m not fine at all.”_

The chorus reigned over the atmosphere for a while, and neither Jaehyun nor Doyoung dared to disrupt it. Once the lyrics slowly faded into interlude, Doyoung held out his hand.

_”You’d tell me about your past,”_

“What’s that for?” Jaehyun asked in a whisper, even though he had an idea already.

_”Thinking your future was me.”_

Doyoung tilted his head to the side. “We’re going to dance, right?”

_”And I know it’s long gone and there’s nothing else I could do.”_

Jaehyun smiled as he took Doyoung’s hand.

_”And I’d forget about you long enough,”_

“Let’s dance then.”

_”To forget why I needed to.”_

In just a heartbeat, they managed to find their place in each other, with Jaehyun’s hand in Doyoung’s, his other arm wrapped around Doyoung’s waist just like how his was wrapped around Jaehyun’s. It was pretty funny, actually; two people slow dancing to Taylor Swift mourning about her previous relationship.

_“‘Cause there we are again in the middle of the night,”_

But no matter how ridiculous it may have looked or sounded, Jaehyun wouldn’t have that moment, where their eyes sparkled with millions of promises and the laughter that escaped their lips held the whispers of a million hopes, in any other way.

_“We dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light.”_

And in that moment, the world faded away.

_“Down the stairs, I was there,”_

And there was only them.

_“I remember it,”_

There was only Jaehyun and Doyoung.

_“All too well.”_

Just like how it’s supposed to be.

The bridge of the song came by, and they still stayed like that, swaying along the beat while whispering little jokes about the day they had, the show they just watched, the night they were currently living, and treasuring every little moment that filled up Jaehyun’s beating heart one by one.

Sometime in the middle of the last chorus, Jaehyun mouthed something.

 _I’m thankful you came here,_ his lips read.

Doyoung blinked, not catching the phrase right away. “What?”

He mouthed the words again.

Doyoung beamed. _“I ate your sandwich._ Did I get that right?”

Jaehyun told him he did.

And they danced some more while the feeling of warmth and comfort embraced them together.

_“Wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all,”_

_“Down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all,”_

_“It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well.”_

After the song, they went back to the couch, seated closer than they were before, and Jaehyun played the show again, but none of them were really watching. Though his body was tired, his heart was alive. And it was his own heartbeats and Doyoung’s steady breathing that lulled him to sleep.

_“I remember you,”_

The song played in his mind just before he let the dreams take over.

 _“All too well.”_

**✦✦✦**

They decided to reschedule the marathon sometime next week, but this time they invited Ten as well. However, on the day they settled, Jungwoo turned out to be unavailable once again.

“I forgot I have this prior commitment already to our new project…” He said. “You know… the one with the archive library of Doyoung’s works.”

“Really?” Doyoung wondered. “I have a whole library?”

Jungwoo groaned. “I told you this a lot of times!”

Still, Jungwoo insisted that they proceed with the marathon without him. After all, Ten was coming and he didn’t want the entire thing to be cancelled just for him.

An hour before their designated time of hanging out, Jaehyun went to a nearby KFC and ordered a bucket of chicken for takeout. As soon as he finished doing so, his phone let out a text notification just before he could head outside.

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ jung ]_

looks like i’ll be available after all

_[ jae ]_

????

what happened at work?

  
  


As soon as he replied, he spotted two familiar faces seated on a table by the glass windows. When one of them turned their way to where Jaehyun was, he waved at them.

Donghyuck brightened up and waved back. He said something to Renjun, probably telling him to watch over the table, and then made his way to where Jaehyun was.

His phone gave another _ping_.

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ jung ]_

an awful lot

no more library replica to recreate lol

_[ jae ]_

wait what?

i thought that project was supposed to be the breakthrough

_[ jung ]_

i thought the same

you know what’s weird?

they’re all acting like i’m the only one who knew about the entire thing

and when i brought it up they were asking if i was sick

_[ jae ]_

wait wait wait

what do you mean?

_[ jung ]_

they were stressing about the lack of a breakthrough project which confused me a lot bc i thought we established that the library was IT

and when i reminded them of it they said there was never one in the first place?

so i told them to look it up

and you know what we saw?

_[ jae ]_

what?

_[ jung is typing… ]_

  
  


“Hey,” Jaehyun greeted an approaching Donghyuck. “How were the long exams?”

Donghyuck shuddered. “Like _hell,_ hyung.”

Another _ping._ Jaehyun checked it briefly.

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ jung ]_

nothing… the library doesn’t exist anymore.

  
  


“Let’s not talk about long exams please,” Donghyuck whined before Jaehyun could even think about Jungwoo’s latest text. “Anything but that.”

Jaehyun chuckled, remembering his own share of exam turmoils. “Okay, let’s talk about your novel then.”

Donghyuck hummed in agreement. 

_Ping._

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ john ]_

well meanwhile

me and tennie arent gonna make it

_[ jung ]_

just when i became free???

whyyyyyy T_________T

i thought we can mourn about my problem at work together

  
  


“How’s it going, by the way?” Jaehyun asked, still mildly keeping an eye at the message exchange on his screen.

“Going well, I think,” Donghyuck beamed. “Renjun _finally_ agreed to proofread, after months of persuading him.”

Jaehyun chuckled. “That’s great to hear.”

“It is!” Donghyuck was smiling so wide. “I’ve actually grown quite attached to my own characters.”

_Ping._

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ john ]_

well work happened to us as well

_[ jung ]_

ahhhh... employment…

it’s so hard to love sometimes

what happened at work

_[ john ]_

some artifacts went missing

but people at work seemed to think they were always empty idk ten is freaking out rn im heading over there

_[ jung ]_

that sucks ;////

which artifacts tho

  
  


“What about that new character you told me about?” Jaehyun asked.

Donghyuck looked confused. “Which character?”

With that, Jaehyun felt just as confused. “The one after Kim Doyoung?”

_Ping._

  
  


**[ j-line \m/ ]**

_[ john ]_

the scrolls from doyoung’s reign

  
  


And as if life was dropping the final bomb on him, Donghyuck’s next question caused Jaehyun’s heart to sink and set his head spinning.

“Who is Kim Doyoung?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [🍃] longest chapter ;-; i think this one reached 12-13k+ hhh a lot happens... so... good luck!

_I walked out, I said, “I’m setting you free”_

_But the monsters turned out to be just trees_

_When the sun came up, you were looking at me_

**✦✦✦**

“Interesting,” Taeyeon replied as Jungwoo recounted their recent discoveries. Jaehyun wasn’t exactly sure why he and Johnny decided to tag along (“Moral support!” Johnny had said. “He became my friend too.” That was Jungwoo.) “Very interesting.”

That seemed to annoy Johnny. “ _Interesting?_ Is that all you can say? He’s starting to not exist anymore!”

Taeyeon eyed Doyoung. “He seems fine to me over here.”

“You know what he meant!” Jungwoo snapped.

“I personally would like to know why am I suddenly being erased from history…” Doyoung commented. “I don’t appreciate it.”

Taeyeon shrugged. “I’m surprised you all still have no idea on what to do.”

Jaehyun heaved a sigh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She turned to look at Doyoung only, who met her eyes with a challenging gaze. “What is it?” he asked rather sharply, even taking Jaehyun aback by a bit.

“You,” Taeyeon stressed on the word, not backing down under Doyoung’s stare. “Of all people should know the answer to this.”

Doyoung opened his mouth but immediately closed it, a flash of something Jaehyun couldn’t recognize crossing his face. His lips were set on a thin line, his once sharp gaze now starting to soften, but he didn’t break eye contact. 

“What is it?” Jaehyun asked, looking between the both of them who seemed to be having their own silent conversation through their eyes. “Why is this happening?”

Nobody answered for a while. Jaehyun was getting frustrated by the passing seconds.

“Oh great, yes, ignore us!” Jungwoo wailed dramatically, slumping on a nearby couch that’s used to accommodate visitors and guests. “We can totally understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Yeah, but the real problem is that they’re not saying anything, are they?” Johnny said, crossing his arms.

“I have to go back,” Doyoung said firmly almost immediately after Johnny spoke.

Jaehyun blinked. “Go back?”

Doyoung offered a small smile, but he didn’t meet Jaehyun’s eyes. “It’s what I’m supposed to do anyway, right?”

“Yes, but the importance of your return has increased, if I may point out,” Taeyeon interjected. “From everything you mentioned, history is being altered because Emperor Doyoung is currently not at the right time period he’s supposed to be. It’s because he doesn’t exist during that era that he also doesn’t exist in history.”

“How is that possible?” Jaehyun asked. “They can’t just change or tamper history in just a day. It’s not possible.”

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. “Just like how a prominent figure from the past being transported to our world isn’t possible?”

That was a silent strike.

Truth be told, Jaehyun felt a little bit stupid for not thinking about it earlier. It was actually a pretty obvious reason—Doyoung didn’t belong in this world. At least, not during this time. That alone was odd enough. They should’ve expected that something like this would happen soon.

Maybe the reason why Jaehyun didn’t think about it was because the thought of Doyoung leaving was something he almost forgot.

It was a thought he wouldn’t invite to his mind, after all.

His chest started to ache.

“Do you think…” Doyoung began, treading lightly. “The people back _home_ ,” hearing that word from him now was starting to sound different to Jaehyun. “They are forgetting too?”

Another silent strike. It was heavier than the first.

Only Taeyeon managed to come up with a reply, but even that wasn’t verbal. She gave him a knowing look that was a blend of pity and sadness. 

Jaehyun’s heart hurt for Doyoung as the same emotion in Taeyeon's eyes were now mirrored on his, but with greater depth.

“As I said before,” Taeyeon explained. “Doyoung will be able to go back to his time because of the reason he was brought here in the first place.”

“You mean how he wished on a shrine?” Jungwoo asked. Jaehyun managed to fill him and Johnny up about it while they were on their way.

“Yes,” Taeyeon said, eyeing Doyoung again who was surprisingly silent about the entire thing. “He went to this world to be able to fulfill his duty to history. When he arrived here, he wasn’t really interested in writing. But history told us that he’s one of the greatest, and through his stay here, he’s found something that could lead him to becoming just that.”

Jungwoo nodded, understanding. “So… he needs to wish on a shrine like that again?”

“Not just wish,” Taeyeon explained. “He needs to swear some sort of… oath. To the very reason he’s here in the first place.” She turned to Doyoung again who was giving her a meaningful look. “But yes, I suppose we’ll need the shrine. He was here to become one of Korea’s greatest names…”

“So he has to swear an oath to his country.” Jaehyun finished for her.

Nobody spoke after that for a while. The weight of the implications of the words they just dropped hung around the air.

It was Johnny who broke the silence. “What do we do then?”

Jaehyun didn’t reply. Partly because he didn’t have an answer, but also because he didn’t _want_ to answer.

“I found… a shrine,” Taeyeon offered. “It’s in a place that has different memorials of ancient civilizations throughout the world. I believe there’s a certain spot there for Ancient East Asia.”

Johnny raised his eyebrows. “The history field camp?”

“Yes, that one,” Taeyeon nodded, motioning for them to gather around her to see what’s on her computer screen. “I’ve been looking through the pictures that people are posting, and check this one.”

Doyoung moved a little closer to get a better look. Jaehyun welcomed the feeling of his presence against him.

“That one,” Jungwoo pointed to a certain photo. “It’s that, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t sticking out, but if you knew how it looked like, you’d definitely recognize it. Jaehyun has seen it during the countless times he browsed through the biography, the shape and outline already being familiar to him.

“It’s not the real thing,” Taeyeon told them before any of them could ask. “It’s a replica. It’s close enough and it’s all we have.”

The thought of Doyoung leaving started to sink in, and the ache on Jaehyun’s chest started to intensify, a heavy feeling now lingering around him. Still, he knew he had to be rational. He took a deep breath and nodded along.

Doyoung nudged him sideways, looking at him with concern. “Are you alright?”

Jaehyun smiled. “I’m fine.” And then, he turned to Johnny. “Where is this place?”

“It’s… quite far from here,” Johnny replied. “I don’t know the exact address, but it’ll be an eight hour drive from where we are right now.”

Jungwoo let out a whistle. “Eight hours?”

“Yeah.”

“I have to go there,” Doyoung stated, more to himself than to them. “I need to return.”

“Yes, I think we established that already,” Taeyeon acknowledged. “But how do we get you there?”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jaehyun interrupted. “Say we do get him there, what happens after that?” He turned to Doyoung. “What would you do?”

Doyoung didn’t answer. Instead, he shared another knowing look with Taeyeon who seemed to understand what he was thinking about. It irked Jaehyun that he was missing out on something, but he scolded himself afterwards for even thinking about it, knowing he didn’t have the right to do that.

Who was he, anyway, to pry on the matters of one of history’s beloved rulers?

“You don’t have to worry about that part,” Taeyeon told him. “He’ll know what to do.”

Doyoung slowly nodded in acknowledgement.

“Okay, my brain is too confused to pick up these vague ominous statements,” Jungwoo said, backing away from the huddle to stretch his limbs. “Clearly, getting Doyoung there is the only way. How do we do it?”

Silence hung around them for a while, until Jaehyun spoke up. “A trip.”

Johnny couldn’t hold back a laugh. “We’re going on a road trip?”

“A field trip.”

“Oh, yes, that’s somehow better.”

“Look, I’m serious,” Jaehyun tried again. “You know the field trip the History Department conducts every year for the juniors and seniors?”

It took a while before Jungwoo and Johnny realized what Jaehyun was talking about. 

“Oh!” Jungwoo exclaimed. “I remember that.”

Even Taeyeon seemed to acknowledge the idea. “That’s a good plan, actually. I heard the department is still looking for places to visit. You can suggest that.”

Johnny beamed. “And Doyoung could pose as a historian or a researcher, since he’s got a lot of knowledge about it and all!”

Jaehyun couldn’t deny that it was, indeed, a great plan. Even though there was a part of him that felt accomplished that he was finally going to be able to help Doyoung, he still didn’t feel happy altogether.

And it didn’t help that Doyoung was looking pretty much the same. It was confusing Jaehyun even more because while the king looked determined, he also looked conflicted at the same time.

“It’s settled then,” Taeyeon told them. “Doyoung will be taken there when the field trip starts. Somebody should inform the head of the event about this then.”

Jungwoo raised his eyebrows. “Couldn’t you do it?”

“Me? No,” Taeyeon replied. She then pointed at Jaehyun. “I think he should be the one to do it.”

Doyoung frowned. “Why?”

“The head will most likely listen to him.”

“Who’s the head?” Jungwoo asked her.

But Jaehyun already knew who it was before Jungwoo even asked the question. Which was why he was the one able to understand and answer.

“Taeyong.”

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun didn't know how long he'd been pacing along the corridor. All he had to do was knock on Taeyong’s office door. It was _that_ simple. Still, that simple task has now extended into more minutes of Jaehyun hesitating—something he knew he wasn’t supposed to do.

He glanced at his wristwatch. _3:25 PM._

Taeyong had classes at 3:45 PM. He knew this because they familiarized themselves with each other’s schedules back when they were dating. Usually, these thoughts would often leave a dull lingering pang when they come across his mind.

Now, they were just thoughts.

That made him knock.

It didn’t even take too long for the door to open. “Who’s—Jae!”

He gave a small wave. “Hey,”

“Hi,” Taeyong greeted back. “Do you need anything?”

“Oh, uh, I’ll be quick,” Jaehyun started. “I just wanted to talk about the field trip. The annual thing we do in the department. I heard you’re the head?”

The other guy nodded and opened the door wider. “Let’s talk inside.”

Taeyong’s office looked almost the same as Jaehyun remembered it. Their department was one of the lucky ones to get a decent building on campus where there’s an entire floor for faculty, hence each professor, practitioner, instructor, and even intern, had their own office. Jaehyun hadn’t been to Taeyong’s office many times because it was always Taeyong visiting him in his. Still, the comfort that the familiarity of the place brought was something he welcomed as he took the guest’s seat.

“What is it?” Taeyong asked from behind his desk. “I have to tell you though, Yuta already volunteered to be the co-head, so if you’re asking for that…”

“Oh, it’s not that, don’t worry,” Jaehyun reassured.

“Okay then,” Taeyong said. “I hope it’s not Donghyuck bribing you? He wanted to go to the new Museum in the next city but there’s nothing about history there.”

Jaehyun chuckled at the thought of Donghyuck using his brother’s position to his advantage and failing. “It’s not, don’t worry.”

“Good, because I think he’s only doing it because of the reputation it has,” Taeyong told him while chuckling. “You do know about it, right?”

Jaehyun shrugged. “Which one is it?”

“The romantic hallway,” Taeyong answered. “With all those… artworks that were supposed to be, well, _romantic._ ”

“Ahhh…” Jaehyun caught on the implication. “Renjun.”

“Yeah,” Taeyong laughed. “Hyuck was begging me last night, saying if I wanted him to get a boyfriend I should direct the trip there.”

Jaehyun joined in on the laughter “He’ll have this way.”

“I hope so,” Taeyong nodded. “What did you want to talk about the field trip, again?”

“I actually want to suggest a place,” Jaehyun said.

Taeyong raised his eyebrows and opened the laptop that was on his desk. “Oh,” he said as he started to type in some things. “Let’s see what you have.”

“It’s a bit far, but I think it could be really fun and educational at the same time,” Jaehyun racked his brain to recall the name of the place that Johnny just mentioned a while ago. “I think it’s called Herodotus Field?”

“I think I’ve heard of that…” Taeyong commented as he typed in a few more words. “I’ll search it up, hold on.”

Jaehyun fiddled with his fingers for a few moments before Taeyong beckoned for him to go beside him.

The field’s official website on the screen greeted Jaehyun when he went over to where Taeyong was. From the basic information on their opening page, Herodotus Field was meant to be an attraction park that honors the history of different ancient civilizations all around the world, but eventually turned into an educational theme park when scout troops started to frequent their outbounds and trainings there. None of the pictures, however, displayed the shrine that Taeyeon saw. Jaehyun figured they would have to find it somewhere.

“That’s the one,” he confirmed in a low voice. “It might be a bit expensive, but it’s something we’ll disclose to students who would want to join.”

Taeyong didn’t nod right away. After he did, eyes still on the screen, he asked, “Why this place?”

Jaehyun only shrugged. “Why not?”

“It’s just…” Taeyong added, a little bit of hesitation laced in his tone. “You never initiated before.”

It was true. In their years of teaching, when their head organizer would ask for ideas, Jaehyun would simply lay back to tune out, telling Taeyong to just fill him in with the details. That was always the case before.

Truth be told, initiating this idea felt heavy to him, anyway. But he didn’t tell anyone that. He didn’t even allow himself to dwell on that.

“Johnny,” he managed to answer a portion of the truth. “He told me about it. I think Ten mentioned it once as well.”

“Hmmm… sure,” Taeyong said. “It’s a nice place. I’m really considering going with this one.”

Jaehyun allowed himself to sigh in relief. “Thank y—I mean, yes, that’s nice.”

He was pretty sure that Taeyong noted the subtle slip, but he was thankful that the other guy pretended to know it didn’t happen and went on.

“Also…” Jaehyun trailed. “Let’s invite someone who is well versed on history.”

“That’s us.”

“No—I mean, yes, but also someone… professional. We can bring Charlie.”

“Charlie, huh,” Taeyong said as if he was letting the name play on his lips. “Your researcher friend.”

Jaehyun nodded. “He’d be glad to help.”

Taeyong chuckled under his breath, and muttered, “I’m sure he is.”

Before Taeyong could ask any further, Jaehyun cleared his throat. “That’s all. Thanks for hearing me out.”

“Sure,” Taeyong replied, returning the smile that Jaehyun gave him. “Thanks for the suggestion as well. We’ll plan it immediately.”

Jaehyun nodded appreciatively and bid him goodbye in a low voice as he made his way to the door. While trying to battle the dull, steady pang that was starting to resurface on his chest, he heard taeyong call for him again.

“Jae?”

He paused and looked back. “Yeah?”

Taeyong opened his mouth to say something, eyes trying to convey a message Jaehyun couldn’t seem to pick up. After a few more moments of hesitation, Taeyong decided on pressing his lips on a thin line instead, the corners of his lips turning up a little bit to offer Jaehyun a small smile. “Nevermind,” he said after a heartbeat. “Take care.”

Jaehyun didn’t understand. But he didn’t want to pry, so he only replied, “You too, Tae.” 

When he went out of the office, this time, he didn’t look back.

**✦✦✦**

Packing didn’t take too long. Turns out they didn’t really have to bring much, anyway. Just a couple of clothes and pocket necessities (and course syllabus for Jaehyun).

Moreover, he wasn’t expecting Johnny, Jungwoo, and even Ten to purchase tickets, their reasons being they’re qualified to join since they’re both alumni and they somehow work in the field (“And I need a break from work too!” Ten added). He didn’t complain. Besides, it would probably be nice to have his friends around so he wouldn’t be alone when the plan takes place.

They all rode the same bus to the venue, since Jaehyun had to supervise the block section in it anyway. Johnny, Jungwoo and Ten sat on three of the five chairs at the very back beside two students who, if Jaehyun was being honest, looked like they weren’t pleased to have grown ups seated near them (making them unable to do whatever plan they had, Jaehyun presumed). Doyoung, however, sat beside Jaehyun at one of the seats at the very front reserved for two people. Jaehyun was the one by the window seat.

He planned on using the travel time to engage Doyoung in a casual conversation for what seemed like the last time, admiring the view beside him and telling him mundane stories and then Doyoung would tell some from his time period in return.

However, that didn’t exactly happen since Doyoung decided to softly rest his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder and snored before the other could even check why he did so. What greeted Jaehyun instead was a calm, serene sight; eyes shut close with lashes lightly gracing his cheeks, lips slightly parted where steady breaths found their way out, and soft strands of still unkempt hair brushing along the space between Jaehyun’s face and neck.

He smiled fondly at the sight. Even though what he initially wanted to do couldn’t happen, he wouldn’t trade this small moment of warmth and reassurance away for anything else.

After a few minutes of watching the window view while listening to Doyoung’s soft breaths in the background, Jaehyun found his own eyelids feeling heavy, and soon enough, he rested his own head on top of the one leaning against him, and the dreams took over.

**✦✦✦**

According to their plan outline, it was a three day educational trip, but it wasn’t entirely that. Their itinerary consisted of one morning of informative sightseeing, one afternoon of team building (it wasn’t really necessary for their course, but since the place was a training camp and it was included in the package, the department decided to take it), one day of an entire seminar about the significance of history, and the last morning just some more time to unwind before they head back.

Sometime during their trek to the rented accommodations, Johnny pulled on his arm and slowed down their steps, letting a discussing Ten, Jungwoo, and Doyoung walking ahead of them.

“What?” Jaehyun asked.

“Over there,” Johnny pointed to what seemed like a path in the middle of multitudes of trees. There was a sign that said _Traces of Shrines_ before the entrance.

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at the sight. “It’s there?”

“Yeah,” Johnny told him. “Managed to get a glimpse of it when the bus went around. Not the actual shrine, but some others like it. Pretty sure I saw a replica of the Pieta calling to me.”

“Oh…” Jaehyun replied, trying to see what’s beyond the path. “I wasn’t able to see them.”

Johnny smirked. “Of course you couldn’t. You were busy.”

Jaehyun blushed. “I was sleeping!”

“With Doyoung.”

“It was a long trip! I was tired...”

“Mhm…” Johnny hummed, swinging an arm around him. “Whatever you say. Pretty sure it’s just because Doyoung was right beside you.”

Truth be told, Jaehyun didn’t really get much sleep last night, courtesy of the tossing and turning and the thoughts he was both avoiding and dreading. With this trip, Doyoung will go back, and he wouldn’t return. It wasn’t exactly a thought that comforted Jaehyun enough to put him in slumber.

However, on that bus ride, Doyoung was right beside him, and even though it was just a small, fleeting moment, Jaehyun felt content, like everything was going to be okay. He let the illusion that this moment would last take over him, and soon enough, sleep did the same.

So even though Jaehyun gave him an honest reason, Johnny still had a point by mentioning the truth Jaehyun didn’t dare admit out loud.

**✦✦✦**

It felt like you were everywhere all at once. At least, to Jaehyun, that’s how it was.

The camp had a large gallery full of portraits of historical figures all created by modern artists. Wonwoo, their main guide and host whose fluency in multiple languages came in handy, explained that they did this to be able to make a bridge between the present and the past, even if it was just in the form of a hall whose walls are adorned with art. Jaehyun thought they did a good job at it.

And judging from Doyoung’s admiring gaze when Wonwoo said those, he knew the king shared the same sentiments too.

They encountered the prominent names from Europe first, Wonwoo discussing each one of them briefly. Though, it wasn’t really a stand-and-listen set up. There was a time allotment every time they entered a new room that would allow them to roam around and observe the portraits, with Wonwoo going around as well, sprouting random trivias every now and then and answering their questions. Each room featured a part of the world.

Doyoung even squinted his eyes at one of the paintings and said, “This one looks like he’s going to cause problems.”

Jaehyun read the title underneath. _Ferdinand Magellan._ He held back a laugh.

Doyoung raised an eyebrow at him. “Was I right?”

“Spot on,” Jaehyun told him. He’s read about the explorer’s expedition for one of his undergraduate classes. He wasn’t particularly fond of the guy.

Wonwoo decided that was the perfect time to saunter towards them and say a random fact. “His expedition was the first circumnavigation around the planet, which therefore led us to the knowledge that the Earth was round.”

Jaehyun scoffed a little bit. “He didn’t get to finish it, anyway. El Cano continued it. Still, I still don’t like the way they colonized the southeast asian countries back then.”

Meanwhile, Doyoung was just gaping at them. “The earth is round?!”

It took Jaehyun a few minutes to explain to Doyoung that yes, the world wasn’t flat, and to convince Wonwoo that this was a normal discussion between them.

They went on like that in every room they visited, not one of them talking about what they really came here for. They lived in the illusion of ignorance they created, just talking casually and giving out remarks to the people in frames that they encountered. Sometimes, either Jungwoo, or Johnny and Ten (they came in a pair) would join them, and sometimes Jaehyun would find himself exploring the room with Donghyuck and Renjun, and sometimes he’d also find themselves trailing behind Taeyong, Yuta and Sicheng.

Regardless, in every room, Doyoung was his constant companion.

If only it could be like that forever. Or even just for a longer time.

Jaehyun pushed the thought aside.

Instead, he just let himself enjoy every moment he had left with Doyoung.

“This one looks like you,” Jaehyun teased, pointing at a particular founding father of America.

Doyoung scowled at that. “I don’t look like that.”

It was all jokes and mindless remarks until they finally got into the room where East Asia was featured. Doyoung paused halfway in the room and stared at a distinct portrait.

“What is it?” Jaehyun asked, following Doyoung’s gaze.

His eyes landed on the painting of a guy who wore almost the same clothes Doyoung had on when Jaehyun first found him by his doorstep. He had a sharp jaw and a strong nose, thin lips set on a line and eyes that gleamed with authority. He also noted a little mole at the bottom of his eye. Overall, he looked just as intimidating as Doyoung was when Jaehyun first met him.

He already had an idea who it was, and the next thing Doyoung said confirmed it. “Jeno.”

After that, Jaehyun started to notice the similarities. They weren’t much, but he saw Doyoung in the way Jeno held himself, even though it’s just in the painting.

The label underneath the frame read _Emperor Jeno._

“I guess he became an emperor in this timeline,” Doyoung said quietly. There was a small, sad smile on his face. “Because I don’t exist.”

The feeling Jaehyun kept pushing aside came crashing in one go, right after Doyoung dropped those words. His heart sank. Still, he managed to say, “What do you think did he do?”

Doyoung’s smile grew bigger, his eyes still trained on the painting of his brother’s face. “Great things. Remarkable ones. I know he never wanted the title, but I also know that he always wanted to help out in the kingdom.”

Jaehyun nodded, not really knowing what to say.

“I’m sure he did things I would be proud of,” Doyoung continued, more to himself than to Jaehyun. “He must’ve been a great king.”

Right after he said that, Wonwoo decided that was the right time to make his presence known again and joined them both in admiring the art. “I see that Emperor Jeno has captured your attention!” The guide told them in Korean.

“Yeah,” Jaehyun replied.

Wonwoo let out a low whistle. “He’s quite famous for his scandal, though.”

Doyoung quickly he averted his gaze from the portrait and turned to Wonwoo, looking alarmed. “I beg your pardon?”

Wonwoo only shrugged. “Well, I heard he shook the entire kingdom when one of the new maids of the palace found him and the stable boy together when he was supposed to be engaged to the princess of a neighboring kingdom. Poor boy was banished after that, sent to another kingdom so he wouldn’t be able to bother Emperor Jeno, because some people weren’t really accepting.”

 _Stable boy,_ Jaehyun thought. _Engaged._

“Mark,” Doyoung breathed out, trembling slightly as he did so.

“Who?” Wonwoo asked.

Before Doyoung could answer, Jaehyun heard Donghyuck call from across the room. “Sir Wonwoo! I have a question about Liu Yangyang!”

“Well,” Wonwoo gave them a curt nod. “Duty calls!” he then went over to where Donghyuck and Renjun were standing, admiring a painting of a young man.

Jaehyun turned to Doyoung with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Mark,” that was all Doyoung replied, looking at the ground. Jaehyun noticed his fists were clenched. “He was banished.”

Unsure of what else to do, Jaehyun put a comforting hand on Doyoung’s shoulder.

“Jeno, he—” Doyoung continued. “He must’ve been crushed. And Mark… all because I wasn’t there… all because Jeno had to take my place…”

Jaehyun’s heart sank at that, mainly because of two reasons. First was the unmistakable sympathy he felt for Jeno and Mark, despite not knowing them personally. Because from the way Doyoung talked about them, they seemed like amazing people who didn’t deserve what Wonwoo said they went through.

And second; if anything else, this was only more reason for them to try to restore history. 

From the look on Doyoung’s face, Jaehyun knew they were thinking the same thing.

It was completely inevitable that Doyoung go back. 

**✦✦✦**

After the incident in the gallery, they were unable to feign ignorance anymore. Not after what was revealed to them.

It took the toll on Doyoung the most, who seemed fidgety throughout the rest of the day, unable to shake the thought off. Honestly, Jaehyun couldn’t blame him, especially when Doyoung presented himself when the camp managers asked for chaperon volunteers for the team building activities. Jaehyun knew he did it to preoccupy his mind into focusing on something else.

The others didn’t know that, though. Ten was even delighted at Doyoung’s sudden enthusiasm and volunteered as well. Now, the two of them were assigned as leaders of the opposing teams formed from the students that joined the trip.

Johnny and Jungwoo weren’t included in the game, but they were actively participating in the audience impact portion; Johnny cheering for his boyfriend and Jungwoo shouting at Doyoung to get his ass together or else he’s going to have to give Johnny twenty dollars.

That left Jaehyun alone by one of the benches, laughing to himself as Ten and Doyoung yelled at each other during tug-o-war.

At least, for a short while he was.

Right after Doyoung’s team fell on the ground and both Ten’s team and Johnny started cheering, he saw Taeyong approaching him with two burgers in his hands.

Jaehyun scooted a little bit over to the side to give Taeyong some space as the other guy handed him one of the wraps. “Here, Yuta said they’re good.”

“Yuta says _everything_ is good,” Jaehyun commented, but he still took the burger. “Thank you.”

When the second round of tug-o-war started and Jaehyun already had three bites on his meal, that’s when Taeyong spoke up again. “He’s smart.”

They both knew who he was talking about. Like reflex, Jaehyun’s eyes gravitated towards Doyoung, who was still shouting flowery curse words at Ten while yelling at his team to pull harder. “Well, he’s a great researcher.”

“Indeed,” Taeyong agreed, now looking at Doyoung as well. “I was mildly impressed at how many questions he was able to answer a while ago.”

After seeing Jeno’s portrait, instead of sulking in the corner, Doyoung did the complete opposite. He tailed Wonwoo around, beating the tour guide first whenever someone asked a question, answering them flawlessly. It was like he was on fire, acknowledging every inquiry thrown at him with perfect ease and knowledge like he had all the answers in the world.

When Jaehyun asked him about it the moment they left the room, Doyoung frowned.

“I just wanted to let it sink in that everything was still just how it was, before I came here,” he explained solemnly, even though Jaehyun could feel the tension even from the few distances that now resided in between them. “That not everything changed. So every time they ask, I answer with memory. Just so I know that…”

He paused. Jaehyun let him take his time.

“That I didn’t ruin everything.”

If those words felt like a blow to Jaehyun, then he couldn’t even begin to imagine how Doyoung must’ve felt then.

“Yeah,” that was his only response to Taeyong’s statement.

“I’m glad you found him,” Taeyong remarked.

Jaehyun allowed himself to laugh lightly. “More like he found me…” and then, he added, “But either way, yeah, we’re glad. He's great for the field trip right?”

Taeyong didn’t answer right away. As Jaehyun turned to look at him to see why he was silent, that’s when he replied, “Great for you.”

Jaehyun blinked. “What?”

“Great for the field trip,” Taeyong repeated, now meeting Jaehyun’s eyes. “And great for you.”

He couldn’t even think of anything to respond. Instead, he offered him a genuine smile, all the while aware that his cheeks were now shading crimson.

Taeyong once again directed his gaze to the still ongoing tug-o-war. “I’m happy for you, Jae,” he said, even though he wasn’t looking at him anymore. “Just thought I should let you know that. I’m glad you’re okay now.”

Jaehyun didn’t know if he agreed with the last statement. Perhaps, Taeyong only said that in the context of moving on from what they had, which Jaehyun had now only realized he was long over it. In that context, it was true.

In general, he really didn’t think he was.

 _Selfish_. he scolded himself.

But still, he smiled, just so he can at least let Taeyong be the one who’s going to be okay, so he can finally stop worrying over Jaehyun.

The other guy seemed to catch the message. “I’m happy for you, Jae.”

There was nothing but sincerity in that statement. Jaehyun allowed the smile he already had on his face to grow bigger, feeling touched that he was cared for enough to be said that.

Even just for a small moment, he let himself think that him being happy was going to be the case for a long time.

Just a small moment.

Until Doyoung roared in triumph after dragging Ten’s team to the ground and Jaehyun’s smile grew even bigger and Taeyong caught it and being the ever caring person he was, he told Jaehyun, “I hope this time, you don’t have to let go.”

Jaehyun froze for a while, before heaving a sigh. He was trying to hold back a hollow laughter making its way out of his throat as Taeyong’s words sinked in.

 _Not let go?_ he thought miserably. _Unlikely_.

Still, he didn’t say that, letting himself blend once again into the illusion that everything’s going to be okay, that he’s going to be happy, and that he wouldn’t have to let go of anything.

Of anyone.

Of Doyoung.

**✦✦✦**

When nightfall came, everybody was tired. (Everybody but Wonwoo, at least. The guy was already used to such activities.) They had nothing scheduled for the evening, probably expecting the exhaustion.

Dinner was comforting. It’s always those moments where everybody gets together right after tiring bonding activities that felt the best. You weren’t necessarily talking to each other or making conversation. You’re just there, sitting in comfortable silence with the full assurance that you’re not alone. 

You’re just there together.

Johnny and Ten were by their own little corner, talking in hushed whispers and small smiles and bright eyes. Jungwoo was roped into Donghyuck and Renjun’s group, now being filled in with Donghyuck’s grand master plan of writing a graphic novel.

Doyoung and Jaehyun ate together on a vacant table near the open area, not really talking about anything. Just sharing a meal and a moment.

The night was peaceful.

Everybody was either too full or too lazy to wash up and go back to their respective rooms, so the majority of them stayed in the dining hall, the chairs and tables tidied up and pushed to the corners courtesy of the chaperons who didn’t want to bother the staff anymore. Despite Jaehyun’s fellow professors’ attempts to get the students in bed, they all whined and refused

“I’ll watch over them,” he told a stressed out Taeyong.

Taeyong rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn before asking, “Are you sure? There are still lots of students outside.”

“Yeah, of course,” Jaehyun replied, patting his shoulder lightly. “And I have company.”

He gestured to Jungwoo, Johnny, Ten and Doyoung who were all gathered around a group of students playing cards.

Taeyong chuckled softly, another yawn threatening to escape his throat. “Okay then,” he said. “You don’t mind if I go ahead.”

“Not at all,” Jaehyun meant it. “Go to rest. You’ve done a lot today.”

Taeyong gave him a grateful smile. He then shouted a few reminders to the room to which the students responded with a monotonous “Yes, sir.” without looking up from what they were all doing. Jaehyun caught Taeyong’s eye after that and they shared a small round of laughter before the other guy waved and retreated to his room.

The night went on like that, with the five of them roaming around the room to check that each student wasn’t doing anything against the house rules of the camp.

At some point, more than half of them were already lying on the floor, sharing random stories they could think of. Since everybody seemed more tired than they were a while ago, they all resorted to listening to whoever was talking. Jaehyun saw some of them visibly resisting the urge to fall asleep, and he also saw some who didn’t and completely knocked themselves out on any place their heads were able to rest upon.

“My grandmother’s sister always told me stories of this girl,” Donghyuck told them when it was his turn to speak. His voice lacked its usual brightness due to exhaustion, but he still managed to draw everyone’s attention towards him with it. “She said that the girl was her true love.

“You still believe in that?” Renjun tried to tease, but his voice was just as groggy as how he appeared.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Donghyuck shot back, more in a nonchalant manner than his usual imposing one. “Everybody wants that.”

A low rumble of murmurs went through the room. Jaehyun couldn’t quite decipher if everybody agreed.

“Anyway, back to my story before Renjun ever so kindly tried to ruin the mood in vain,” Donghyuck spoke, stretching his limbs a bit. “Every single time we visit her, she’ll always pull me aside and giggle and go all ‘I’m seeing her soon!’ on me. I never really questioned it, because whenever I asked my grandmother or even my parents about it, they just told me that they let her be.

“Still, that didn’t stop her from sharing stuff from me. My grandmother’s sister, I mean. Whenever I’m left with her, she’ll always tell me, ‘They may not remember her, but I do.’ Ha. And well, I’ll just nod and smile, pretending she’s making complete sense, even though I always look at my parents during those times to save me from another conversation about this non existent girlfriend she had.”

“But despite that, I can never get the look on her face away from my mind. I can’t really explain it, but even though she was spewing nonsense every single time, her emotions were sincere. And I don’t know; they felt real, I’m not going to lie. Which I guess was the scary part because it was the same way my mom looked at my dad, and my grandma looked at my grandpa, and now her to some… girl that according to my family does not exist.”

“No offense, Hyuck,” Renjun interjected. “You’re going nowhere here.”

“Hey, I was trying to talk about love.”

“By using the most peculiar example ever.”

“I… uh.. Well…”

“At least she was happy,” another student butted in. “Your grandmother’s sister, I mean. From the way you talked about her, you could tell that she was really happy.”

“Yeah, well,” Donghyuck shrugged. “She’s dead now so I can’t really ask her anything.”

“You’re asking the wrong person about ‘love’, or whatever it is you’re trying to say,” Renjun deadpanned

Donghyuck huffed, but even in his sleepy state, Jaehyun could spot the red rising up to his cheeks. He laughed a little bit, thinking that Donghyuck was saying these things because his brain was now half-asleep and he did not have full control of whatever was coming from his mouth.

Apparently, Renjun too, because he suddenly pointed at Jaehyun and brought the attention to him. “What about you, prof?”

Jaehyun blinked. “What about me?”

“Anything you can share?”

“About what?”

“About love, apparently,” Donghyuck said in an attempted spiteful manner. “Since Renjun thinks I’m not a credible source for it.”

Renjun rolled his eyes. “The story you’re telling wasn’t even yours.”

“So? At least I shared something.”

“Yes, yes, we learned that your grandmother’s sister is in love with someone she claims exists but apparently doesn’t.”

“Well, would you rather I blurt out some random tweet about love that I found from twitter user ‘PoemsPorn’?”

“Oh come on—”

“ _Love is blind. Love is patient. Sometimes, love means letting go_ —”

“Hyuck, you need sleep—”

“So do you—”

“Okay, okay,” Jungwoo called from the opposite corner where he was mindlessly shuffling a deck of cards. “You _both_ need sleep and you’re both getting nowhere. Maybe we should all pack up and call it a night.”

“Ehhhhhh….” Renjun whined.

Jungwoo let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, anybody else who wants to share anything?”

More than half of the room was asleep already, and the remaining people paying attention were all close to dozing off.

Maybe that’s why he found himself speaking. Because he knew no one was awake enough to try to make sense of what he was about to say.

“There are things you don’t want but you can’t let go,” he began in Korean, just in case the drowsy Doyoung beside Jungwoo was listening. “And then there are things you want but have to let go.”

He heard Donghyuck hum, like it was an indication for him to go on.

“Either way, in any of those cases, fate’s not on our side,” Jaehyun added, though quite unsure where he was going with this. He didn’t even think he was making any sense. “It takes luck to get on fate’s good graces. To have time go on as you want it to.”

He could hear the snores from a few students growing; most likely because some of them wouldn’t be able to understand what he was saying, anyway, so they resorted to sleep.

“So if love is going to be something,” Jaehyun continued, even though at this point he felt like he was just talking to himself. “It’s timeless. Because even if fate throws you all these hardships, even though time gives you a lot of hell for it, if it’s love, then it’ll conquer all of that.”

“Preach…” Donghyuck said, a yawn now escaping his mouth as he leaned against Renjun who’s just as sleepy as him. “Preach…”

“Preach…” Renjun subconsciously repeated.

“Okay, now we really have to go to sleep,” Jaehyun announced in a much louder voice, waking up all the already dozed off students as intended. “Up, everybody. You can all rest in your rooms.”

“Preach…” Donghyuck mumbled while sluggishly standing up.

Jaehyun looked over to where his friends were seated. Ten was knocked out against Johnny who was struggling to help him up, Jungwoo was no longer there and instead was helping Jaehyun out in telling the students to go back to their rooms, and Doyoung was looking back at him.

For a while, they held eye contact. Jaehyun knew he just had a half senseless speech about fate and time and love but this little moment between them felt more like messages were being conveyed.

Jaehyun was the first to look away.

**✦✦✦**

The accommodations were nice. It reminded Jaehyun of the beach resort he, Jungwoo, Johnny and Ten went to a year ago. More with a dash of home-y elements than luxurious suites. Plus, it felt like you were on a vacation by the countryside. Cozy, so to say.

Jaehyun felt everything but.

The room he was supposed to stay in was enough to fit three people, so it was him, Jungwoo, and Doyoung in there. Johnny and Ten were staying in another one. They each had their own beds, and Jaehyun was constantly tossing and turning in his. Sleep was definitely not his friend tonight.

After he came in terms with the fact that he won’t be falling asleep anytime soon, he carefully got out of his bed, double checking that both Doyoung and Jungwoo were asleep, and then went outside.

A blanket of stars greeted him, ready to keep him company in this sleepless and restless night. However, he didn’t get to spend some time with them alone like he intended to. Jaehyun heard approaching footsteps from where he came from, probably a staff that was about to tell him he wasn’t allowed there, or a fellow professor of his who got up to grab a glass of water and instead saw him and was now about to tell him that he shouldn’t be out here.

He realized he didn’t get any of that right when Doyoung plopped down the ground beside him. “Hello,” he greeted.

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow. “How did you find me? I just checked the room a few minutes ago and I swore you were sound asleep.”

Doyoung shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I just did. Find you, I mean. I just... keep finding you, perhaps.”

He was too tired to ignore the way his heart jumped at those words.

Jaehyun only smiled in response, and then he brought his gaze back to the stars. Again, he was too tired. He didn’t know how much he would be able to hold in if he kept looking at Doyoung, kept staring into his eyes, kept letting the guy do all sorts of wonders to his heart that he would eventually do something stupid just because of them.

Doyoung didn’t seem to push him to talk, and Jaehyun was grateful for it. Once again, they were back to how they were a while ago—the heartbeats doing the talking now that they can be heard thanks to the silence around them, and that was enough. They were sharing heartbeats and this moment—that was more than enough.

Jaehyun closed his eyes and scolded himself internally. He shouldn’t be having these thoughts, not when time is moving fast. Not when time is drawing near. Not when time is running out.

“So,” he began in a soft voice. “You’ll go soon.”

Even though it was directed towards Doyoung, Jaehyun spoke just so he can remind himself that the other guy will indeed go soon.

Doyoung let the silence pass for a few seconds before answering, “Yeah. Johnny said tomorrow?”

Jaehyun nodded. “Most likely. We didn’t have time today...” he trailed. And then, he added in a rush, “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Doyoung was quick to dismiss. “It’s okay.”

“Yeah, but,” Jaehyun felt himself trembling slightly. “You have to go back soon.”

Doyoung let out a soft sigh. “I know.”

“You have to,” Jaehyun now casted his gaze ahead, rambling more for himself than for Doyoung. “Because otherwise the timeline would be ruined, and your works woudn’t have inspired anyone, and Johnny and Ten still wouldn’t know what to do at work, and Jungwoo would still stress about the library, and... and your brother will have to carry the responsibility he never wanted in the first place, and the stable boy will be banished, and—“

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung interrupted, softly but firmly. It worked, because Jaehyun stopped talking that instant and slowly turned his head towards the other guy. “I know.”

 _I know you do,_ Jaehyun though. _But do I?_

He didn’t say that out loud and just resorted to letting a deep breath out and a smile.

“Hey,” Doyoung added, moving a little bit closer to Jaehyun, something the other found himself doing as well. He seemed to hesitate, opening his mouth and then closing it abruptly, looking away in the process.

Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows. “What is it?”

Doyoung still didn’t answer.

Worry started to creep in Jaehyun. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t—“ Doyoung took a sharp intake of breath, as if whatever it was he was trying to say was too much.

Jaehyun took his hand from where they sat and started rubbing small circles on it with his thumb. Doyoung slowly turned to him, eyes widening a little bit from the surprise contact. Even though just a while he was feeling anything but, Jaehyun managed to give him a genuine reassuring smile—that it’s okay. That it will be okay.

It worked, because after a few seconds and heartbeats, Doyoung went on and said, “Don’t forget about me.”

And Jaehyun had to hold himself back from laughing. Though, he didn’t exactly manage to get rid of the smile that formed on his face. Still, he found it amusing. Doyoung was worried that Jaehyun would do the last thing he’d ever do, no matter what.

“Never,” he answered quickly, still holding onto the other guy’s hand. “Never, Kim Doyoung.”

Doyoung laughed fondly, leaning a little bit. “Are you sure?”

“Always,” Jaehyun replied quickly once more, their foreheads now touching courtesy of the close proximity of their faces. “Always, Kim Doyoung.”

And somehow, they stayed like that, with the stars above them a witness to the exchanging of words, a witness to the sharing of heartbeats, a witness to the yearning none of them were brave enough to act upon.

But that moment was _still_ everything to Jaehyun. 

Because Doyoung was close, _so close_ , and he was holding him, and he was close, and he’s inhaling his every breath, and he was close, and he could hear his heartbeat just as much as he could hear his own, and he was _so_ close.

 _In this one moment,_ Jaehyun thought, intending to say it to Doyoung but didn’t really let it out loud. _Let me pretend like we have all the time in the world. Like I don't have to let go._

He may not have said it out loud, nor may he have heard it from Doyoung, but somehow, he knew the other shared the same sentiments.

They stayed close to each other like that, waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting—

If only one of them could lean in, could move a little bit closer, then—

But no one did, because they’re both scared—

In Jaehyun’s case, he knew letting go was already difficult. And if he did _it_ , it would only be much harder to do so.

Still, he wanted to.

And Doyoung looked like he wanted to as well.

So close.

So, _so_ close.

So close, so close, so close—

Closer, and closer—

And closer

And—

“Jae? Charlie?” Jungwoo called frantically from inside.

They jumped from their seats, disentangling their hands, with Doyoung coughing in the process as Jaehyun stood up abruptly.

“Woo?” he called back

As if on cue, Jungwoo appeared at the door, relief washing over his face when he finally saw Jaehyun and Doyoung. “Oh thank god,” he breathed out, his hand above his chest. “I was worried because I couldn’t find you anywhere. I was _this_ close to waking Johnny and Ten up, you know.”

He heard Doyoung stand up from beside him, laughing at Jungwoo. “I didn’t know I would see this day where you, Kim Jungwoo, would possibly care enough to look for me.”

“Shut up,” Jungwoo hissed, swatting his hand in the air. And then, with more endearment than he probably intended, “I joined this trip for you, didn’t I?”

Jaehyun saw Doyoung smile at that. At least, he was reassured that before the king had to go, Doyoung would leave, knowing that in this part of the timeline, he was loved.

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun couldn’t really keep up much when tomorrow came. Unlike yesterday where he held onto every detail of the day while he can, today he felt like he was just floating around. Even the seminar that lasted the entire morning and the first half of the afternoon felt completely uneventful.

He knew his friends noticed this. He was thankful that they didn’t bring it up.

He also knew Doyoung was feeling the same. At least, it’s what he gathered from constantly stealing glances to the unusually quiet figure he’s going to have to bid goodbye soon. He was thankful that neither of them brought it up.

After being overloaded with information for more or less seven hours, it was like a breath of relief for everyone when they found out that the next thing in their itinerary was actually just a sight-seeing free time. Taeyong reminded everyone about the rules of the trip before he let the students wander around.

When he made eye contact with Donghyuck who was dragging Renjun somewhere, Jaehyun smirked and winked at him teasingly. Donghyuck blushed and sped up his pace, Renjun now complaining from behind him as he tried to keep up with Donghyuck.

And then it was just him, Jungwoo, Johnny and Doyoung, standing in the middle of the souvenir park.

“Where’s Ten?” Doyoung asked.

“Off to buy some souvenirs to bring back,” Johnny replied. “Told him we had business to sort, and I can’t exactly tell him everything because—“

“Because he doesn’t know who I really am,” Doyoung interrupted, sounding like it pained him to say those. “I understand.”

“Anyway,” Jungwoo said before silence could take over. “I heard they close the shrine park at 6 PM. If we start looking for it now, we may be able to make it in time.”

“Okay,” both Doyoung and Jaehyun responded quietly in sync. Jaehyun knew Doyoung turned over to look at him, but he didn’t do the same.

Instead, he chose to take the first steps and lead the way.

It turned out that they were the only ones interested in the _Traces of Shrine_ because the gatekeeper of that part of the camp lost the game he was playing on his phone out of surprise that someone actually wanted to go there.

“You only have,” they checked their wristwatch. “Around two hours left.”

Doyoung was the one who answered. “That’s more than enough.”

Jaehyun’s heart sank, but he didn’t let anyone know that. He was pretty sure his face gave it away. And so, he did what he knew he had to do.

He took the first steps and led the way.

Thankfully, Johnny and Jungwoo seemed to take it upon themselves to at least relieve the tension in the air by making small talk every now and then, cracking jokes in between. As they passed by various statues, they talked about the events of these past few weeks, and Jaehyun would be lying if he didn’t admit that recounting those memories made him smile.

“Yeah, and Yuta’s party,” Jungwoo told them right after they encountered a replica of Michelangelo’s David. “That was a wild one.”

“You were not yourself that time,” Doyoung pointed out, chuckling.

“False!” Jungwoo exclaimed, spotting another statue. “I was _completely_ myself that time because I was drunk. _You_ , on the other hand, were a total killjoy because you refuse to get drunk.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes. “I was not raised to behave like that.”

“Mhm...” Jungwoo hummed, skipping on the ground now. “Did your royal retainer also tell you—“

“I’m moving in with Ten,” Johnny blurted out all of a sudden.

That caused everybody to stop in their tracks, all of them turning to look at Johnny whose eyes were drilling holes to the ground. There was, however, an unmistakable smile resting on his face.

“I haven’t told him yet,” He continued. “But I’ve been thinking about what Char—Doyoung said back then at the party, and then I scolded myself for even thinking about it for long, when all along I already knew to myself that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.”

He looked up from the ground, scanning each of their stunned, speechless faces. “Yes, we don’t know what’s going to happen, what’s in store for us, and yes it’s fucking scary, but—“ He glanced up the sky. “I love him. Somehow, that’s enough. And I’m willing to embark in this journey if he’s by my side.”

Jaehyun walked over to where Johnny was and draped a comforting arm around his shoulder. “I’m happy for you,” he told him sincerely.

Doyoung didn’t make his way there unlike Jaehyun, but he gave him an acknowledging nod. “I’m extremely delighted as well.”

Jungwoo, however, was all extreme emotions. “I am rejoicing!” He exclaimed, rushing over to where they were, engulfing both Johnny and Jaehyun in a tight hug. “I’m so _fucking_ happy!”

Jaehyun managed to steal another glance at Doyoung who was just looking at the three of them with a fond expression. There was sadness in his eyes, but there was also something that Jaehyun had only noticed until now.

Acceptance.

The conversations throughout the rest of the search now consisted of Jungwoo expressing his delight and Johnny having to swat him away from another tight hug. 

And all throughout, Jaehyun kept thinking that he should learn to find the same thing in Doyoung’s facade just a while ago.

Acceptance.

Life didn’t give him much time to mull that thought over, because soon enough, after what seemed like a good forty five minutes of finding their way among the trees and statues, Johnny pointed at a particular sculpture and said, “Over there!”

Indeed, there it was.

The shrine.

Jaehyun has already seen it countless times in the book and in the picture Taeyeon sent for reference, but seeing it in person—he didn’t feel like he was prepared.

Not because it was eye catching (it _was,_ actually, just a little bit) but because at that moment, it stood like a reminder that time was running out, and that Doyoung would have to return soon.

“Well,” Jungwoo gestured. “Here we are. I could say I’m a bit underwhelmed by the design.” He turned to Doyoung. “Is it possible that you can talk to whoever your architect is back in your place about this?”

Doyoung scoffed. “You simply do not appreciate its beauty.”

Jungwoo raised his arms up teasingly. “Not denying that!”

Doyoung didn’t give him any form of retort in return. Instead, he smiled. “Woo,” he called, something that surprised the three of them since Doyoung never really referred to him as such. “First of all, thank you for the clothes you’ve been lending me. I was not used to such clothing but they were very comfortable.”

Jaehyun swore Jungwoo almost cooed. It was an endearing sight. Doyoung and Jungwoo have always been the ones bickering nonstop among their group, and to see them openly showing affection towards each other—Jaehyun wanted to frame the moment.

“And, even though we have our own unique way of getting along,” Doyoung chuckled. “I was very thankful for it.”

Jungwoo couldn’t hold it in. He lunged for a hug, taking Doyoung aback for a split second before the other guy wrapped his arms around Jungwoo’s waist, letting themselves rest against each other.

“I’m still your worst nightmare, your majesty,” Jungwoo joked after they pulled away.

Doyoung only laughed. “No one’s taking your place.”

After that, he regarded Johnny with a nod. “All my life, as the eldest son of the family and heir to the throne, I’ve always been given these… responsibilities I have to carry,” Doyoung began. “But when I met you, it felt like someone had my back.”

The sad smile on Johnny’s face was growing wider (and somehow, even sadder).

“It’s like having an older brother,” Doyoung laughed. “I never had that. Even for a brief period of time, thank you for letting me find that in you.”

“Always, Charlie,” Johnny teased, but there was fondness in his voice. “Always.”

“And I’m happy for you and Ten, please tell him I’ll remember him,” Doyoung added. “I hope you live and love well.”

Like Jungwoo, Johnny didn’t resist the urge to engulf Doyoung in a hug. They still had yet to figure out how to break it down to Ten that ‘Charlie’ was gone, and they still had to come up with a plausible reason as to why he was so. They figured they’d do everything one at a time.

And for now, they’d hold onto Doyoung for a little longer.

When Johnny pulled away after ruffling Doyoung’s already messy hair, he cleared his throat. “Jae, do you want to check out the replica of the _Pieta?_ I saw one when we passed by here while we were on the bus, kinda just wanna see it.”

Jungwoo’s eyes widened in understanding, catching Johnny’s implication. “Sure!” He swung an arm around the older boy, dragging him along somewhere. “And then you can tell me _all_ about yours and Ten’s plans.”

“I told you, I haven’t told him yet!”

“Then we’ll discuss how you do it, then! I’m thinking about a romantic dinner…”

Their voices eventually faded away along with the sounds of their retreating footsteps, leaving Jaehyun and Doyoung under the leaves of the trees shading them from the darkening sky, courtesy of the sinking sun. The shrine stood there in all its glory, upright and demanding, like it’s telling them to hurry up and not waste time anymore.

 _Time,_ Jaehyun thought bitterly. _It really had to screw things up._

In all the time that Jaehyun took the first steps in this trip, it was Doyoung who made the last one. 

“Well then,” he began. “This is goodbye.”

Jaehyun only nodded. “It is.”

Doyoung was silent for a while, like he was contemplating if he should go with whatever was on his mind, but before Jaehyun could even wonder what he was thinking about, Doyoung was already making his way towards him and pulled him in an embrace.

Like every other moment that he was _this_ close to Doyoung, he melted under his touch. He let himself rest against his presence, let his head find its place in the space between Doyoung’s chin and shoulders, let his arms wrap around Doyoung’s waist, let himself hold onto Doyoung.

One last time.

The silent whispers of his heart blended in with the calm breeze brushing against their cheeks, like nature around them was witnessing this small, selfish moment and it wished to provide them a small sense of comfort. 

“Thank you,” Doyoung whispered. Jaehyun heard the sincere gratitude in his statement, but he also couldn’t miss the hint of an apology wrapped around it. Those two words held more meaning than any of his previous messages to Jungwoo or Johnny.

Jaehyun smiled a little. “Thank _you,_ ” and then, just to lighten up the mood. “Charlie.”

He heard Doyoung laugh from beside him. “I still cannot believe you had to brand me with a white man’s name.”

Jaehyun chuckled, reluctantly pulling away from the embrace. Doyoung followed suit, but their hands were still linked as they stood in front of each other, foreheads touching once again. 

“Forgive me,” Jaehyun meant to say that in a joking manner, but it didn’t come out like that.

“Well then,” Doyoung repeated his first statements, sparing a glance at the shrine standing beside them before turning back to Jaehyun. “This is goodbye.”

Jaehyun nodded. “Bye,” he managed to give a meek response.

Silence.

He wondered how Doyoung would plead allegiance to his country, to his duty as king.

 _Maybe you can stay._ Jaehyun didn’t say that. He had already been selfish enough.

Doyoung took a deep breath and then, while still caressing Jaehyun’s hands with his, their eyes met. “ _Until the end of the dynasties…”_

Jaehyun’s eyes widened. He knew these words.

_“...I will stay by your side; for I was born with the purpose of offering you my soul…”_

It was _the_ oath.

_“...my heart, and my life. And even if the afterlife welcomes me in its embrace…”_

The sacred oath to the Kingdom of Korea.

_“... this oath for you, I’ll always uphold.”_

And Doyoung was looking at Jaehyun the entire time he was saying it.

_“For I have been made to love you all along.”_

Jaehyun didn’t even realize he was crying until Doyoung let go of his hands and wiped a tear from his cheek.

“Doyoung…” he tried to say, but sobs escaped his throat right after.

Doyoung only offered him a calm smile, eyes glistening just as much. “I’ll come back to you the way I always have, Jung Jaehyun.”

He felt more tears streaming down his face. Jaehyun shut his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying. But as he did so, he heard the faintest whisper of words, something you wouldn’t even catch if you weren’t listening, if you didn’t hold the voice who spoke it dear to your heart.

“I love you.”

Jaehyun opened his eyes.

Like how fast those words were said, Doyoung was just as quick to disappear.

Jaehyun frantically searched the area.

He was alone.

Doyoung was gone.

And right there in that spot, he let the heartbreak settle, while the whisper of the three words he never got to say was blown by the wind until it reached out of the woods.

**✦✦✦**

Just like how the night came by, they went back to the residences in silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the leaves being brushed by the wind, the grass rustling under their steps, the crickets and a few birds singing to the air, and as they gradually got closer to their rented place, the increasing chatter of the crowd as well.

He didn’t talk to anyone when they arrived. Johnny and Jungwoo were all looking at him with concern, but they didn’t urge him to speak. He was glad for that, and for the fact that somehow, even through small gestures, like getting Jaehyun’s food in the dinner buffet for him and telling people that they’ll do the little tasks they were asking Jaehyun to do, his friends were still looking out for him. Even Ten tried to lighten up the mood every time Jaehyun wasn’t able to conceal his frown.

For a long time, none of them really talked about what happened. None of the people seemed to ask about Doyoung anyway, which Jaehyun was a little bit grateful for. He wasn’t sure he would be able to give an answer if they asked, afraid that the tears might get out first before his voice ever could. It was only until Jungwoo and Ten were assigned to do the dishes that it was brought up.

The rest of the team already went to their respective rooms. Johnny and Jaehyun stayed behind, waiting for their friends to accomplish the task. Halfway through that, Jaehyun wandered around the room and paused in front of a window where the night sky outside was visible. He heard footsteps following him and assumed it was Johnny.

Jaehyun heard a deep breath before the question came. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he tried, but both Johnny and him knew he was lying. “It’s just…”

Johnny didn’t say anything, only patiently waited for him to say something. 

Jaehyun sighed before going on. “It’s just Doyoung…”

What happened after was something Jaehyun most certainly didn’t expect. Johnny placed his hand on Jaehyun’s shoulder and threw his head back laughing. Jaehyun didn’t know if his friend was joking at that time, but it certainly didn’t sit right with him.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked rather sharply.

His tone must’ve taken Johnny aback. “Well, I was just wondering… what about Doyoung?”

Jaehyun was about to yell at Johnny right there had he not seen the genuine confusion and cluelessness on his friend’s face. He could feel his heart hammering loudly in his chest as something stirred in the pit of his abdomen, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

“What do you mean, ‘what about him’?” Jaehyun asked carefully.

Johnny shrugged helplessly. “How can a king from the past upset you?”

Jaehyun’s jaw dropped. “Are you hearing yourself?!”

“Are _you_ hearing yourself?” Johnny shot back, looking at Jaehyun with worry. He lightly placed the back of his hand on Jaehyun’s forehead. “Are you sick?”

“Johnny, this isn’t funny.”

“I’m literally not joking? You’re the one upset over a historical figure, so I’m worried.”

“Historical figure? He’s more than that!”

Johnny raised his arms up in defense. “What else could he be, Jae?” he asked, stepping back a bit. “Look, if you’re having trouble making your lesson plan about Emperor Doyoung, you can just tell me and Jungwoo, and even Tennie, and we’ll help you.”

“Why would I—”

“I’m serious.”

Jaehyun was now extremely confused. “Weren’t you just with me back there at the shrine?”

“Yeah,” Johnny replied, lowering his hands. “You said you wanted to check it out. After a few moments, you suddenly become sad all of a sudden. Jungwoo and I couldn’t understand why.”

“What on earth are you saying—” Jaehyun cut himself off, an answer suddenly dawning upon him, and he didn’t like it. The clear confusion on Johnny’s face was proof enough, like he really didn’t have any idea on what Jaehyun was talking about. “Holy shit,” he breathed out.

Johnny looked even more worried. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Johnny,” Jaehyun said, willing himself to maintain his composure. “Who’s everyone that went with me to the shrine?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Just answer it, please.”

With a skeptical look, Johnny answered, “Ten stayed behind so no one would come after us, per your request. And then it’s just me and Jungwoo who accompanied you.”

Jaehyun was now trembling. “And,” his voice was shaky. “These past couple of weeks… the three—four of us...”

“I don’t know where you’re going with this,” Johnny answered truthfully. “But it’s always been the three of us. Well, four, if you count Ten.”

It was like the entire sky came crashing down on him. His eyes went wide, his ears started hearing an annoying high pitched feedback, his breath hitched, his palms started to sweat, and his heart was beating faster than ever. Everything felt hazy. He could make out Johnny repeatedly asking him if he’s okay, but all that was drowned away by a simple thought that pierced through Jaehyun’s mind.

 _Oh god,_ he thought to himself. _They don’t remember Doyoung._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [🍃] shortest chapter because i Cannot write angst for the life of me... around 6k-ish? anyway have fun :)

_Are we out of the woods yet?_

_Are we in the clear yet?_

_(Oh, I remember)_

**✦✦✦**

It’s a crime, Jaehyun believed.

It’s a crime that the sun was still shining as if everything’s alright. That the birds continued to chirp bright melodies as if sorrow didn’t just take place. That the trees were still standing as if nothing just crumbled.

It’s a crime that everything went back to normal like nothing just happened. That everything was restored without anyone remembering how or why. That the only memory of the person responsible for everything was left to Jaehyun only.

It’s a crime that everything was okay but no one knew or remembered that it was all because of Doyoung.

It’s a crime that the world went on, but he was still gone.

It’s a crime.

It’s a sad, cruel crime.

**✦✦✦**

Many days passed and Jaehyun was still left with only the memories of the past weeks to hold on to. Many days passed, and Doyoung was still gone.

If you’re going to look at it, he never really went away. In fact, he was _everywhere_. He was in the signatures at the end of the pages of textbooks and collections of poems. He was in different portraits hung on walls of countless museums and historical destinations all over the world. He was in every goddamn television show or movie that was inspired by his work. He was in the chapters of the momentous highlights of history. He was in Jaehyun’s syllabus, his accomplishments waiting to be known by another multitude of people in this generation so that they can admire him just as much as the previous ones had. He was in Donghyuck’s graphic novel, for Christ’s sake.

But he was also in the ray of sunlight that managed to find its way inside their apartment’s living room. He was in the cup of coffee that Jaehyun made every morning, telling him that it was his favorite. He was on the doorstep every time Jaehyun stepped outside, making some intellectual remark about the surroundings. He was in the seat across from him at the table in Jaehyun’s coffee shop. He was in the row at the back of the classroom, listening to Jaehyun’s lectures. He was in the space beside Jaehyun’s cafeteria seat, beside Jaehyun’s couch, beside Jaehyun’s bed, and every empty space beside Jaehyun. 

He was there.

And it was because his memory was left to Jaehyun alone that nobody else saw him.

That nobody else remembered him.

Only Jaehyun.

Doyoung was there to Jaehyun.

But to the rest of the world, he wasn’t.

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun couldn’t keep track of how many times he cried—he just knew he did.

Johnny, Jungwoo and even Ten never knew the real reason why. They wouldn’t even believe him if he told them the truth, that a damned emperor from ancient Korea went back to his rightful time and Jaehyun was crying because he had to let go, so he just let his tears convey everything. They may not tell the truth, but at least they never lie. His friends never pushed him further. 

Jaehyun figured they were probably just waiting for him to open up. He wasn’t sure he was ever going to.

He even overheard Jungwoo and Johnny talking downstairs when they thought Jaehyun was fast asleep in his room, preparing himself for a day-long meeting tomorrow. He woke up to grab a glass of water, but paused midway as he was descending the stairs when he heard Johnny speak his name.

“Jaehyun thinks he’s fooling us,” Johnny had said.

“I don’t think so,” that was Jungwoo. “I think he knows he’s not fooling us, but he still chooses to pretend that he is. That’s what bothers me.”

There was a pause. And then, Johnny asked, “You think it’s Taeyong?”

“Probably,” Jungwoo replied just as Jaehyun held back a snicker at the mention of his ex. “Didn’t they have a talk last time during the trip? It might be because of that.”

Oh, Jaehyun remembered that talk very well.

But it wasn’t _that_ talk that brought him to state.

He didn’t tell them that.

He brought his steps back upstairs lightly so he could go back to sleep again, forgetting his thirst if it would mean quickly avoiding himself to remember him again.

(It was all in vain; he remembered Doyoung even after he fell asleep, right there in his dreams.)

**✦✦✦**

“Are these the last of the boxes?” Ten asked him, the excitement in his voice particularly hard to miss.

Jungwoo beamed at him since Jaehyun couldn’t do so. “Yeah,” he responded. “Those are the last ones.”

Ten clasped his hands in delight. “Great!”

He looked happy.

Jaehyun envied him for that.

He deserved to be this happy.

Jaehyun envied him for that as well.

“Let me go check if the cookies are ready. I made some for us,” Ten told them, unable to stop himself from smiling. “I’ll be back.”

Jungwoo and Jaehyun watched as Ten skipped happily inside, grinning when he spotted the boxes inside the living room and grinning even wider when Johnny stepped out from it. Ten stood on his tiptoes to give Johnny a quick peck on his cheek before waltzing inside to where Jaehyun assumed the kitchen was.

Johnny’s cheeks were red when he went over to where they were outside, a small, sincere smile resting on his face.

“About time, huh,” Johnny told them, chuckling a bit.

Jungwoo lightly hit his arm, laughing a little as well. “It took you long enough, Johnny.”

“Yeah,” Johnny admitted, but he didn’t look remorseful. In fact, he looked triumphant, which was the complete opposite. (Jaehyun envied him for that too.) “But at least I’m here now.”

“Still surprised you suddenly decided to do this though,” Jungwoo told him. “But that’s no big deal. I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you,” Johnny said, letting out a sigh of relief, like this was it—this was his comfort place, where he’s safe and sound. And it was.

Jaehyun managed a smile, thinking about how much Johnny and Ten deserved this, and each other.

“It’s actually interesting, so to say,” Johnny told them. “I feel like… someone talked some sense to me. I guess it must be my consciousness talking to me in my dream, or something close to that. But I just knew I woke up one morning and I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Ten.”

Jungwoo faked a sniff. “That is so fucking sappy, but I’m glad…”

Jaehyun tuned out, the implication of Johnny’s words sinking in. He was brought back to another memory of Doyoung at Yuta’s party, where he, ever the great poet of romance that he was, gave Johnny a wholehearted speech about love, about taking chances and risks, about always choosing the person you love above anything else. Though Johnny might not remember that anymore, Jaehyun was glad it helped for this entire thing to happen.

“I’m going to miss you,” Jaehyun told him, startling his friends a little bit for deciding to speak after countless moments of silence. “Now I’m stuck with having Jungwoo as my coffee buddy.”

“Hey!” Jungwoo feigned being offended. “I’m a !!great!! coffee companion.”

Jaehyun playfully rolled his eyes. “You don’t even like my coffee blend!”

“Well then I’m gonna have to learn to love it for you,” Jungwoo winked as he draped an arm around Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Doing that because I love you, by the way.”

“Gross,” Jaehyun commented, but he leaned in the embrace.

“No fair!” Johnny protested, marching closer to where they stood. “Just because I’m moving out of the apartment doesn’t mean I’m excluded from these group hugs.”

“Ehh... too dramatic,” Jungwoo teased, but he used his free hand in motioning for Johnny to join them. “Get over here.”

And when Johnny did, he engulfed them in a bone crushing hug. It was supposed to be uncomfortable, with Jaehyun being unable to move his arm plus his and Jungwoo’s figures are now awkwardly entangled as Johnny’s might pressed upon them, but Jaehyun felt anything but. There was no trace of discomfort in what he was feeling in that embrace. 

He let out a sigh of relief.

This was his comfort place—where he’s safe and sound.

In that split second where they all held on to each other, the pain he was holding in was a little bit more bearable.

“Cute sight!” they heard Ten call from the doorstep. “You can do that inside. Cookies are ready.”

Johnny and Jungwoo immediately broke into a race to get to the cookies first, constantly bumping each other on purpose while trying to reach the kitchen. Jaehyun allowed himself to laugh fondly as he admired the sight, his eyes following their retreating figures as they both tried to beat each other to the dining table.

He paused when he reached the doorstep where Ten was still standing by. The other guy, too, was looking at Johnny and Jungwoo softly. It made Jaehyun smile.

Ten then turned to him. ”Thank you, Jae.”

He must’ve thought that Jaehyun or even Jungwoo had something to do with Johnny’s decision.

He gave him another genuine smile. “Trust me,” he replied. “It’s all you, Ten. It’s all you.”

Jaehyun swore that Ten almost hugged him right there if only they didn’t hear a crash from the kitchen. They immediately rushed to where the sound came from and saw Johnny, Jungwoo, and the cookies on the floor.

Ten looked like he was about to explode. “Are you kidding me?!”

Jungwoo pointed at Johnny accusingly like they were caught in the middle of a fight over who gets to ride the swing first in second grade. “It was Johnny! He knocked the bowl over!”

Ten turned to Johnny who raised his hands up in surrender. “I was only excited to eat the cookies you made, honey!”

“We still have the five second rule...” Jaehyun offered, trying to stifle his laughter.

Johnny continuously blinked at Ten, trying to give him a _puppy eyes_ effect which seemed to work just a little bit. “Fine, I can still make another round,” he gave in. “But the both of you are cleaning that up!”

“You got it!”

Before Ten turned away to bake some more cookies again, Jaehyun caught the hint of a smile on his lips. He then turned to his friends; both of them had their arms outstretched.

“Make me stand!” Jungwoo whined.

“Me too!” Johnny followed.

“You guys are like two big babies,” Jaehyun commented, but he still took their arms and pulled them up, stumbling a bit as he did so.

“Thanks,” Jungwoo said while Johnny stretched his limbs. “Now let’s clean this up while we wait for the cookies!”

Jaehyun wasn’t obliged to do anything because he wasn’t the one who knocked the cookies over, but he still picked the crumbs on the floor and joined his friends in cleaning up. The pain in his chest never ceased—it was still eating him up slowly, steady, continuously. But he’ll deal with that later.

For now, he helps.

**✦✦✦**

What Jaehyun expected when they got home was him marching straight to his room and launching himself onto his bed, in the hopes of napping away everything that he was feeling.

What he didn’t expect was Jungwoo following him before he could even do the last thing. His friend carefully closed the door behind, looking at him with a concerned gaze.

Jaehyun pretended he didn’t note any of the worry that was on Jungwoo’s face. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

Jungwoo’s forehead creased. “I should be the one asking you that.”

An attempt at a nonchalant laugh escaped Jaehyun’s lips. “Why would you think that?”

He didn’t get a verbal reply. Instead, the answer came in the form of Jungwoo walking towards him and sitting with him on the bed, looking at him straight into his eyes. No words were spoken, but Jungwoo raised his eyebrows slightly at Jaehyun in a manner he was all too familiar with, something that has always translated to _you’re not fooling me_.

Jaehyun looked away.

Jungwoo spoke up this time when you did so. “I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re feeling down, Jae.”

He still didn’t reply, still didn’t look.

“What’s wrong?”

Still none.

He heard Jungwoo sigh. “Right, I don’t know what it is,” his friend said softly. “But I want you to know I’m here for you. Okay?”

A few moments of silence passed before Jaehyun turned to look at Jungwoo. He had a small but sincere smile on his face and his arms were stretched out slightly, offering his embrace. That was more than enough for Jaehyun to return the smile weakly and let the first tear slip by.

Jungwoo was quick to pull him into a hug when the tear reached his cheek. “Shh….” he whispered as the low whimpers turned into sobs.

Somehow, everything came crashing back to Jaehyun. The first time by their doorstep, the times Doyoung tailed him, the time he knew he had to let go, and the time he did. At that point, the tears were just flowing and he made no effort to stop, not when he finally allowed himself to be weak now that someone was holding him.

“He—” he managed to choke out. “He’s gone.” And he kept repeating that amidst the sobs.

His friend only held him tighter, one of his hands lightly brushing Jaehyun’s hair and the other rubbing circles on his back. “I know.”

False. He knew Jungwoo had no idea about who or what he was talking about. Why would he, anyway? Still, that didn’t stop Jaehyun from curling even more as he was pressed against his friend’s embrace, the tears flowing and the sobs escaping like they wouldn’t stop. 

Still, at that time, he was just grateful that right now, he was holding on and not letting go.

**✦✦✦**

The last thing Jaehyun needed was another goodbye, but he should learn by now that life really liked to play its jokes on him.

Granted, he wasn’t close to Taeyeon on a personal level, but she’s been a big help to Jaehyun, especially these past few weeks. Still, he didn’t know why he received an email from her and telling him to come by her office tomorrow for one last talk. He figured there was nothing else to talk about.

There was nothing else that mattered to talk about.

(Yes, he’s still gravely affected.)

That’s why he wasn’t exactly in an enthusiastic state—or any kind of extreme one, for that matter—when he entered her office. He was pretty sure his appearance reflected what he was feeling; deflated.

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows at the sight. “That’s not how I expected you to greet me for the last time.”

Jaehyun managed to give her a smile, but it was all he could do. It took him a while before he asked, “Why did you call for me?”

Taeyeon, however, ignored his question and only pouted. “Why the long face?”

Jaehyun only sighed, looking at a faraway distance, focusing his sight on a stack of recently returned books, and then to a row of computers, then to the shelves; wherever it may be, he was avoiding Taeyeon’s gaze. 

He didn’t want to face another reminder that they couldn’t remember.

That was, until Taeyeon asked, “Is it Doyoung?”

Jaehyun’s head snapped towards Taeyeon who now had a playful smile on her lips.

“How—”

“I’m not one to forget, Jung Jaehyun,” Taeyeon said, making a gesture in the air like she was presenting herself. “I know the emperor was here a few days ago.”

Questions were flying around his head that he didn’t know which one to ask first. “But everybody else— it doesn’t make sense— where—” he paused, eyes widening as he asked Taeyeon the question that he should’ve asked back when she first handed him the book he never asked for in the first place. “Who are you?”

“What do you mean, who am I?” But Taeyeon was still smiling as she asked that.

Jaehyun let out a frustrated sigh. “The book! That _damned_ book. You put it on my pile like you knew he was going to arrive. And when I brought him to you, you immediately believed him. And now this!” Realization upon realization came to him as he said those, more and more things starting to make sense (or rather, more and more things are starting to _not_ make sense that they now required answers to be justified).

Taeyeon sat on her desk, hands holding on to the edges while her legs dangled in the air. “I work for the higher being.”

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows. “God?”

Taeyeon shook her head. “No, no, not the big G. I guess I could say that I work for a _force_ , rather. Quite a strong one too.”

“What are you talking about—” but the question died the instant it escaped his lips, because right after asking that, realization dawned upon him. “Time.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You work for time,” Jaehyun said firmly, his hands now starting to shake lightly. “That’s why you weren’t surprised about Doyoung. That’s why you knew him, and knew what to do with everything. You saw it coming. It’s why people think you remain to look young after all these years, but in reality you’re just ageless.”

Taeyeon only raised an eyebrow at him.

“You work for time,” Jaehyun repeated, this time to himself. A few weeks ago, he wouldn’t have thought that he would be saying these words, nor would he have thought of them. But after Doyoung came, everything seemed to become possible.

Well, not everything.

It may be possible for Jaehyun to meet an emperor from the past, but it was not possible for Jaehyun to forget about him.

Taeyeon clicked her tongue before replying, “You are a bit right on the description, I have to say. But I don’t work for time.”

Jaehyun fought the urge to roll his eyes. “If not time, then what?”

“There’s something way stronger than time, Jaehyun,” Taeyeon told him. “I thought by now you would have figured that out — since you’ve familiarized yourself with it just recently.”

“What are you talking about?”

Taeyeon smiled. “Love.”

Jaehyun blinked. “What?”

“I work for love,” Taeyeon repeated.

Jaehyun paused, letting Taeyeon’s words sink in. When he realized that even if they were instilled in him and they still wouldn’t make sense, he resorted to laughing.

“You don’t believe me,” Taeyeon observed.

“No shit,” he was letting his grief take over now. “You work for _love_. How convenient.”

Taeyeon sighed, letting Jaehyun finish his round of laughter before speaking again. And this time, when she did, the words she spoke caught Jaehyun off guard. _“Until the end of the dynasties, I will stay by your side,”_

Jaehyun froze, recognizing those words all too well.

_“For I was born with the purpose of offering you my soul, my heart, and my life. And even if the afterlife welcomes me in its embrace, this oath for you, I’ll always uphold. For I have been made to love you all along.”_

When Taeyeon finished, Jaehyun was at a loss for words.

She smirked. “Familiar?”

Jaehyun didn’t reply. He figured she knew the answer to that already.

“Well, Jung Jaehyun, just like what you’ve been teaching all these years, that oath was something that young kings say when they swear fealty to the country they are supposed to serve, am I right?” she sounded like she was taunting.

“Yes…” Jaehyun responded quietly.

“It’s what Doyoung needed to say in order to go back,” Taeyeon continued. “But the thing is… you didn’t need a shrine, not really.”

“What?!” Jaehyun asked sharply.

“Yes, you didn’t.”

“But… but you said in order for him to go back,” Jaehyun was trembling as he explained. “It should be because of the reason he came here in the first place. He was brought here because he was destined to be one of the greatest poets in history. To see the potential the future has. To become the leader he’s known today. And he wished on that shrine… that’s why he had to say the oath there.”

“That’s one part, yes,” Taeyeon replied, smiling. “But Jaehyun, darling, did he ever tell you what he wished for in that shrine?”

Jaehyun paused, realizing what Taeyeon was pertaining to.

“Well?” Taeyeon urged.

“Love,” he breathed out. “He wished for love.”

“Bingo! And darling, where did life lead him?” Taeyeon asked, but he knew she wasn’t asking for answers, not when he already knew it. “Life led him to you. It’s why he couldn’t leave that doorstep of yours. Because he was meant to come to you.”

“But…” Jaehyun’s mind was hazy. “But the shrine…”

“The shrine is bullshit, I thought we established this?” She sighed, skipping around the room like she was excited to reveal the real reasons. “He didn’t have to say the oath to any shrine. He only had to say it to _you.”_

Jaehyun couldn’t believe what he was wearing. He wanted to curl himself up and stay at a corner, just to let everything sink in. “Did he… know that?”

“Darling, he knew that before you even decided to help him,” Taeyeon replied. “Though, he didn’t exactly know it was you. He just knew he had to find love.”

That didn’t help at all. “Since when?”

“We already had a little chat, Doyoung and I, when you first took him to me. You know, that time when you went to your lecture and he was left with me.”

“But…” Jaehyun’s heart was aching once again. “But why go through all that… the appointment with you, the camp, the shrine…”

“That’s a good question, actually. He could’ve done it while you were sleeping, for all he cared for. Just stand at the edge of your bed, say the oath, and boom! Gone!” she replied, facing Jaehyun with a fond look on her face. “But I guess, he chose to be a little bit more selfish too. He wanted more time with you.”

 _Damn it,_ Jaehyun cursed in his head. _Damn you, Kim Doyoung._

“I mean, why do you think he writes great romance pieces?”

Jaehyun froze. _No, it can’t be._

Taeyeon seemed to read his mind. “They’re all about you.”

He didn’t even realize his eyes were burning until a tear slipped down his cheek.

“You, Jung Jaehyun, are the reason for this much amount of love in the world,” Taeyeon said, going back to her desk to pick up her handbag. “Anyway, now that _that_ happened, I am now free to go. Still have to travel to complete another job for my next pair of star crossed lovers.”

Jaehyun turned to her sharply. “You can’t just leave after saying that!”

Taeyeon smiled at him apologetically. “I was just doing my job.”

“Well, you’re not doing a great job about it!” Jaehyun yelled, tears streaming down his face without end. “If… you think what you said was supposed to make me feel better, then you’re wrong. It made me feel worse.”

“That’s… not exactly my job,” Taeyeon pointed out.

“At this point? I don’t give a shit.” Jaehyun knew it was his emotions that were talking now. “I don’t care who you work for. I don’t care what’s exactly said in your job description. I don’t care who you really are.”

He marched towards the door, and as he reached for the knob, he turned to Taeyeon one last time who was just giving him an amused smile.

With a heavy heart, he said, “None of those can change the fact that the man I love is gone.”

**✦✦✦**

If it was possible, Jaehyun would like it if the world faded away instead. Or maybe, he could be the one fading away from it. Either way, he wanted to disappear. The lingering heavy feeling in his chest was becoming harder to miss to the point where it’s slowly becoming familiar; to the point where Jaehyun was growing used to it enough to not be surprised, but also not enough to not experience the pain all over again.

Unfortunately, the world wasn’t on his side.

Taeyeon’s words didn’t help at all. In fact, they made him feel more miserable. It was hard enough to let Doyoung go.

Now the feelings he harbored were even much more difficult to let go.

Not when he’s surrounded by everything that would remind him of the very feeling he had to let go.

He felt the sting behind his eyes as he dragged his steps on the corridor, cursing fate, time, love, destiny or whoever the fuck was responsible for this situation. Tears were threatening to fall again, and Jaehyun was growing tired.

He was tired of crying. He was tired of beating himself up for being extremely selfish just because a small, yearning part of him wanted Doyoung to stay just a little longer, even just for another day, another week, another year, another lifetime—

He halted his steps. Such thoughts wouldn’t get him anywhere.

The Jaehyun before would allow the pain to settle and hold on to the hope that eventually, in time, he will be okay.

But right now, he felt hopeless.

How can time heal him when it’s the same thing that broke him in the first place?

And to make matters worse, it seemed to be _teasing_ him, even, because not after his now habitual period of wallowing in despair on his own, he heard a faint, familiar voice calling his name.

“Jaehyun?”

Making sure there weren’t any tears in his eyes, Jaehyun turned around and gave the person a practiced smile. “Hey, Tae.”

Taeyong returned the smile. “Hi,” his expression then turned to worry. “How are you?”

Jaehyun held back a snicker. “I’m fine.”

“Really?” Taeyong didn’t sound convinced. “You kind of look like,” _shit,_ Jaehyun supplied in his mind. “Not fine.” Taeyong completed.

Jaehyun let out a small, hollow laugh. “Is it that obvious?” He didn’t bother to hide it anymore.

Taeyong gave him an apologetic smile. “Pretty much,” he replied. And then, “What happened?”

Even though he knew the answer already, he still chose to ask, “Don’t you remember anything?”

Unlike the few other people he asked, the confusion on Taeyong’s face didn’t last long. Instead, it turned into some sort of fond understanding, like he was looking at Jaehyun with some calm sentiment that Jaehyun couldn’t put his finger on, but it somehow reached out to the ever constant ache in his chest.

“I remember you were happy.”

Jaehyun was mildly surprised to hear that.

"What do you mean?” he asked in a voice as equally low as the question that preceded it. A little part of him was holding onto the hope that somebody else other than him and Taeyeon remembered Doyoung. And even if that somebody was his glorious ex, he was thankful. He just needed _somebody_.

“I mean,” Taeyong began. “Last time I saw you, you were with Jungwoo, Johnny and his boyfriend, and you were having fun.”

Jaehyun’s heart sank in his chest. Of course, why would Taeyong remember Doyoung, anyway? Why would anyone remember Doyoung, anyway?

Why was Jaehyun stuck with the memory of Doyoung alone?

(Not counting Taeyeon, of course. Jaehyun already gave up on understanding her.)

“And I don’t remember the exact details,” Taeyong continued. “But I remember you were happy. And it was the happiest I’ve seen you in a long time. I can’t put my finger on why, but the important thing was that you were.”

Jaehyun blinked. “Happy…” he repeated, the word sounding so wrong in his lips.

“Yeah, happy,” Taeyong replied.

And Jaehyun didn’t know if what he was thinking was exactly the case, but he believed he understood. Though they couldn’t remember Doyoung’s visit and everything that happened, they couldn’t change the fact that they still did. They simply cannot be erased in one’s memory. You can block them out and manipulate time for all you want, but they still happened. That’s why there will always be fragments of things that time couldn’t change or take back that will linger. There will always be the memory of pain, grief, and happiness.

And so long as Jaehyun’s beating heart still remembered those, they would never truly go away.

But that’s all it was now; a memory. Because that happiness that Taeyong remembered was gone along with the very reason that caused it in the first place.

Jaehyun let out a fleeting bitter laugh. “I guess that’s not the case all the time.”

“Maybe,” Taeyong said. “But… we’ll get there eventually.”

Jaehyun didn’t know how to respond to that.

Taeyong offered him a hopeful smile, the smile that once brightened up Jaehyun’s days, the smile he’d last see in his mind before he went to sleep, the smile that gave him hope that somehow, in some way, everything will be okay.

It’s not quite that anymore, but it was reassuring.

“Be happy, Jae,” Taeyong said, giving Jaehyun a brief nod before starting to walk again.

This time, the smile that Jaehyun returned was natural. Albeit small, it was still sincere.

“You too, Tae.”

**✦✦✦**

_How does it feel knowing one of the greatest foundations of literary romance was all because of you?_

Jaehyun still didn’t know the answer.

_I remember you were happy._

He wished he still was.

The world would know about the golden poet of romance, but Doyoung was still gone. The world would read and keep his works close to their hearts, but Doyoung was still gone. The world would go on, and Doyoung was still gone.

Jaehyun knew he would eventually deal with it. He was a professor, after all, who teaches about people like Doyoung, analyzes their works, and teaches it to students. He would have to read them again. He would have to relive the feeling again. He would have to be reminded again. He would miss him again. He would remember him again. He would have to learn how to manage all that.

But for now, even just for today, he was going to feel the pain and survive. That should be enough for now.

It’s how he found himself back in the coffee shop, ordering his usual with a sad smile on his face, because it reminded him once again of the time he brought Doyoung there for the first time, and the next, and the next, until he got used to going here with him. The short while that they were together was enough to make Jaehyun feel lonely as he acknowledged the absence of the other.

“Here’s your usual,” Jeonghan told him as he placed the cake and the coffee on the tray. The barista looked at him worriedly. “Are you okay?”

 _No._ “I am,” Jaehyun replied quietly, and a bit dismissively. “Thank you.”

He offered a small smile to a still concerned Jeonghan as he took the tray and made his way to his usual table.

Jaehyun didn’t think the seat across him was possible to feel emptier than it already was, and yet it did. Granted, before everything that happened with Doyoung, he was already used to lounging by that spot alone. Now, however, even the thought of either Jungwoo or Johnny or anyone else sitting right across him still felt empty.

Though, Jaehyun was pretty sure the chair across him was just a reflection of what was actually the opposite empty—a quiet spot in his heart reserved for the person he wished was seated across him right now.

Reserved for the person he wished was there right now.

He was starting to get lost in his own thoughts again until a voice reeled him back to reality.

“Hello?”

Jaehyun’s breath hitched. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

 _No, no, no,_ he told himself. _Your mind is making things up. You’re hearing things again. Besides, it was in english._

He stopped himself from looking around, knowing that he wouldn’t find anything.

And then, “Excuse me?”

Jaehyun felt his entire body stop. He was entirely frozen in his seat, the shock still sinking in.

Slowly, he managed to turn his head to where the voice came from.

His heart soared as the tears started to build up in his eyes.

Standing in front of him was a guy holding a tray that had the same coffee and cake Jaehyun ordered. Jaehyun looked at him for a long time, taking in the sight and making sure it was real. From the shape of his lips, the slope of his nose, the curve of his cheeks, the frame of his eyes, and even just the way he held himself—it was impossible to miss, especially if this was the same face that plagued Jaehyun’s mind and heart for weeks.

Doyoung blinked at him. “Sir, are you okay?”

Jaehyun blinked, trying to register what he heard. He still couldn’t believe he was hearing Doyoung speak in English, and now he was also confused as to why the other guy referred to him as ‘ _Sir’._

“I—I’m fine,” Jaehyun managed to stay, still unable to take his eyes off Doyoung.

Doyoung didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t bring up. “Um… do you mind if we share a table? There’s no other vacant one left.”

Jaehyun looked around the store, even meeting Jeonghan’s eyes at some point who beamed at him. “You’re right,” Jaehyun replied. “I mean—yes, yes, of course you can share me—my table.”

Doyoung let out a small laugh at that, and Jaehyun’s heart felt like it was soaring. He could already feel the tears ready to fall at the back of his eyes. Hearing that again sounded so surreal, because not once in the past few days did Jaehyun think he’d encounter that again.

He didn’t even realize he was smiling unconsciously, like someone just played his favorite song on the radio for the entire shop to hear. Perhaps, Doyoung’s laugh was really contagious.

Perhaps it was just Doyoung.

After settling on the seat across Jaehyun, he spoke again. “Um,” he scratched the back of his neck, chuckling a bit. “I know we don’t know each other—”

 _Ah,_ Jaehyun thought to himself. _He doesn’t remember._

“—and you probably won’t believe me and you might find it weird,” Doyoung continued, still looking at him timidly. “But I have this feeling like I’m supposed to be here with you.”

It took everything in Jaehyun for him not to cry right there. 

He could hear Taeyeon laughing in his head, telling him something like “See? I told you to just trust me.” He himself wanted to laugh as well, wanted to throw a few remarks to whoever was watching over him right now—time, God, love, destiny, whoever it may be—and just laugh. He even wanted to laugh at himself, for wallowing in despair for the past days when he’d eventually meet _the_ Doyoung of the present. Albeit the Doyoung right now was clearly not aware of everything that happened, he was still there.

Still sitting right across Jaehyun.

The emptiness was gone.

“I believe you,” Jaehyun replied, meaning it.

Doyoung let out a sigh of relief, like he was dreading Jaehyun would think he was disturbed. “I know it sounds crazy and we just met each other, but, for some reason, I feel like…”

Jaehyun waited, his heart now more hopeful than ever.

The other guy smiled. “I feel like I keep coming back to you.”

_I keep coming back to you._

And he did. He came back.

“Sorry that was weird,” Doyoung added quickly.

It was Jaehyun’s turn to chuckle. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t.” He returned the smile. “Not at all.”

The guy then offered his hand, looking at Jaehyun intently, holding it out for him to take. “I’m Kim Doyoung.”

 _I know,_ Jaehyun thought in his mind.

He probably would’ve thought that this was an entirely different person, that he was just deluding himself to think that this was the same Doyoung, if it weren’t for the eyes.

And it’s always Doyoung’s eyes.

Because time may pass them by, centuries may come in between, but the look that Doyoung gave him will never change. The brightness will never dull, the gleam will never falter. And right now, those eyes were looking right back at him, like they were meant to, like they always do.

With the brightest smile on his face, he took Doyoung’s hand, and he embraced the familiar security and comfort that greeted him—reassuring him that it’s all going to be alright now.

“Jung Jaehyun.”

**✦✦✦**

Jaehyun could feel the soft grass beneath them as they sat beside each other. The wind was brushing his cheeks tenderly, the sunlight adding to the warmth that was already embracing them.

Doyoung was seated right beside him, humming a song. Jaehyun could see his eyes clear as day.

He felt serene. Content. Safe.

“You know how you told me that I keep coming back to you?” Doyoung asked, proceeding to hum right after.

Jaehyun shrugged. “Yeah, you thought I was weird for saying that.”

They laughed a little.

“I keep coming back to you,” Doyoung said, after humming the last note of the song. “Sometimes, I don’t think it’s because fate wants to,”

Jaehyun tilted his head to the side. “Then, why?”

Doyoung started to hum another song.

Jaehyun nudged him lightly. “If it’s not fate, then why do you keep coming back to me?”

Doyoung paused and turned sideways and Jaehyun met his eyes. Bright, inviting, and utterly captivating. And then, he smiled.

“Because _I_ want to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [🍃] thank u for making it this far *weeps* that means a lot to me ;;;
> 
> [🍃] kudos and comments are appreciated! again, thank u sm 🥺💛
> 
> be my friend please!! ♡  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/halfmoonjisung)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/halfmoonjisung)


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